Annual Crop Production Research Articles

Perennial crops shape the soil microbial community and increase the soil carbon in the upper soil layer

Soil biodiversity is threatened by intensive agriculture that relies on annual grain crop production, thus leading to a decline in soil functions and ecosystem services. Perennial grain crops have a positive impact on the soil microbial community, but the responsive microbial groups and the magnitude of their response remain uncertain. To elucidate this, we analysed soil microbial biomass and community composition, bacterial growth and soil total carbon in five crops: organic perennial intermediate wheatgrass (IWG, Thinopyrum intermedium, Kernza®), organic IWG-alfalfa intercrop, organic biennial grass-legume mixture, organic annual wheat or rye and conventional annual wheat. The analysis was carried out at three time points under two growing seasons at four different soil depths. Five years after establishment, IWG had greater amounts of soil total fungi and bacteria, and of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, saprotrophic fungi, gram-negative (G−) and gram-positive (G+) bacteria compared to annual wheat. Crop perenniality influenced the soil microbial community structure although precipitation, soil temperature and water content were the main drivers of the patterns of and temporal variations in the microbial community. Perennial crops, with reduced tillage and low nitrogen input management increased the proportions of fungi relative to bacteria, AM fungi to saprotrophic fungi, G− bacteria to G+ bacteria, and the growth rate of total bacteria. This resulted in a more active soil microbial community with higher microbial biomass than annual wheat and contributed to the increased soil total carbon storage in the 0–5 cm soil layer in a humid continental climate. The findings emphasize the importance of combining a no tillage strategy with long-term vegetation cover to increase soil quality.

Anticipatory Technoeconomic Evaluation of Kentucky Bluegrass-Based Perennial Groundcover Implementations in Large-Scale Midwestern US Corn Production Systems

Perennial groundcover (PGC) has promise as a scalable approach to generating natural resource benefits and sustainable biofuel feedstock while preserving the high yields of annual row crop production. Partnering row crops with temporally and spatially complementary low-growing, shallow-rooted perennials, such as Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) (Poa pratensis L.), is one example of an emerging PGC system. PGC’s ecosystem benefits can only be fully realized if commercial-scale adoption occurs, which hinges on its economic feasibility. This paper utilizes an enterprise budget framework to detail and compare the expected cost and revenue of establishing and maintaining PGC in row crop systems with standard continuous corn (SCC) (Zea mays L.) production, including stover harvest, but excluding economic incentives for ecosystem services. Optimistic and pessimistic assumptions were used, along with Monte Carlo simulation, to characterize the uncertainty in results. In the optimistic stover market scenario, Year 1 net returns for PGC averaged USD 84/ac less than for SCC; Year 2+ net returns averaged USD 83/ac more, meaning that cost parity with SCC occurs by the second PGC system year. Without stover revenue, parity is achieved after five years. These results affirm that PGC’s economic viability is critically impacted by a groundcover’s lifespan, the yield parity with SCC, and the availability of a stover market.

Intercropping Systems: An Opportunity for Environment Conservation within Nut Production

Global population growth and intensive agriculture have both contributed negatively to the environment. As a result, there is increasing interest in the use of sustainable alternatives is increasing to promote better use of natural resources and create an equilibrium between agriculture and the environment. Intercropping, the simultaneous cultivation of multiple crops, aims to optimize land use economically while enhancing biodiversity through plant–microorganism interactions, thereby boosting crop productivity. This practice has particularly benefited nut production by combining the nutrient-sequestering capacity of trees with continuous annual crop production, improving soil nutrient and water utilization. Intercropping systems not only enhance nut yield and quality but also offer economic advantages to farmers. This review synthesized the existing literature with the aim of highlighting not only the positive aspects that intercropping brings to the production of nuts, but also the challenges and limitations faced in different regions when it comes to agricultural production.

Economic Analysis of Forest Management for Timber Production and Agricultural Production in Hillside Watershed Areas of Madagascar: A Case Study of the Itasy Region

In hillside watersheds, forests play a crucial role in protecting against soil erosion. Not only does forest vegetation cover serve as a biological measure to prevent soil erosion, it also generates income through sustainable management practices. However, there is a scarcity of research that evaluates and compares the profitability of perennial woody crops with that of other agricultural crops by integrating biological aspects within an economic analytical framework in Central Madagascar. In this study, we address this gap by combining a biological growth model that captures complex forest dynamics with economic management data to utilize the discounted cash flow method. We applied this approach to evaluate and compare the profitability of forest management and agricultural crop production in the hillside watershed areas of Central Madagascar, which have experienced severe human-induced soil erosion. Although our results showed that timber production is a profitable option, other agricultural crops generate much higher profits, indicating that financial subsidies alone may not be enough to shift land use toward perennial woody crops. In addition, growing fruit trees such as oranges and mangoes appears to be a much more financially attractive option for local farmers than annual agricultural crop production.

Newly established, multifunctional woody polycultures preserve agroforestry soil health benefits of a widespread U.S. land retirement program

Soil health degradation within intensively managed annual crop systems threatens the long-term economic sustainability of maize- and soybean-dominated production regions like the U.S. Corn Belt. While Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) efforts to perennialize portions of farmland to improve soil health have been largely successful, many landowners intend to return CRP land to high revenue maize and soybean cultivation. The CRP could be a pathway for a regionally tailored and profitable form of agroforestry focused on fruit and nut production potential, known as multifunctional woody polycultures (MWPs). In theory, MWPs should provide similar soil health benefits as CRP agroforestry, as soil health benefits are generally robust across agroforestry practices. We conducted a study in the heart of the U.S. Corn Belt to compare soil health responses between newly established (<10 years) CRP and MWP agroforestry systems and adjacent annual crop production fields. Because organic inputs from plant litter and roots are more consistent under untilled perennial vegetation systems compared to intensively managed annual crop systems, we hypothesized that CRP and MWP would entail similar enhancements to physical, soil organic matter (SOM), and biological soil health. Our results indicate establishing untilled, perennial CRP and MWP systems can quickly improve physical and biological soil health relative to annual crop production, based on decreased soil bulk density, greater soil water infiltration, and increased soil enzyme activity. Unexpectedly, CRP and MWP elicited divergent SOM responses. Notably, only MWP increased surface soil organic carbon stocks relative to annual crop fields, likely reflecting species-variant plant biomass growth rates. Our study demonstrates MWPs can manifest similar improvements to physical and biological soil health as CRP agroforestry on a relatively short timescale. The sensitivity of transition-state SOM responses between CRP and MWP demonstrates the importance of woody perennial selection to maximize specific soil health outcomes.

Water Footprint Assessment of Agricultural Crop Productions in the Dry Farming Region, Shanxi Province, Northern China

Exploring the crop production water footprint and their driving factors is of significant importance for management of agricultural water resources. However, how do we effectively assess the total agricultural water consumption and explore the significance of their driving factors, i.e., population, economy, and agricultural production conditions, using a backpropagation neural network (BPNN)? It is still ambiguous. Water consumption for crops during the growing season is explicitly explored by way of water footprint indicators (green water footprint, WFPg, and blue water footprint, WFPb). This study provides new insights into the factors driving the changes in crop production water footprint in Taiyuan City over the period of 2005–2021. Simulations of crop evapotranspiration using the CROPWAT model were quantified. The results showed that Taiyuan City has a low crop yield level below the average level of China, with the highest crop yield in maize. The crop production water footprint in Taiyuan City showed a non-linearly decreasing trend over time. The average annual crop production water footprint was 187.09 × 103 m3/kg in Taiyuan City, with the blue water footprint and green water footprint accounting for 63.32% and 36.68%, respectively. The crop production water footprint in the west and north of Taiyuan City was significantly higher than those in other areas, accounting for 42.92% of the total crop production water footprint. Oilseed crops contributed most to the total crop production water footprint, accounting for 47.11%. The GDP and total sown area of crops were more important for the changes in WFPb. Agricultural machinery power and agriculture-to-non-agriculture ratio were more important for the changes in WFPg. Agricultural machinery power and GDP were more important for the changes in IWFP. In-depth analysis of the factors driving the changes in crop production water footprint is dramatically important for agricultural decision makers to mitigate water resource pressure in Taiyuan City.

Relevance of molecular systematics in insect pest management

Relevance of molecular systematics in insect pest management

Optimal evaluation of crop residues for gasification in Ghana using integrated multi-criterial decision making techniques

Lack of sustainable feedstock quantity and quality has been reported to be one of the major challenges confronting operations of gasifier plants in Ghana. In this paper, TOPSIS (Technique for order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) COPRAS (Complex Proportional Assessment) and VIKOR (Multi-criteria Optimisation and Compromise Solution) were used to select optimal crop residues for sustainable gasification in Ghana among thirteen residue types. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used as weighting criteria for the three Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) techniques. Thirteen criteria based on particle size, proximate, ultimate analysis, calorific values, and quantity of residues were used. Five scenarios were considered; ranking of individual feedstock, consideration of the combination of the feedstock grouped under four categories. The ultimate and proximate analysis of the various crop residues as determined were generally within recommended levels as reported in the literature. Cashew shells and cassava peels have the highest heating value and annual technical residue potential of 23.4 MJ/kg and 880,750 tonnes respectively. Ranking of the individual crop residues confirmed cassava peels as the best alternatives of all the three MCDM techniques. The average rankings of the alternatives from the three MCDM in the order of best to worst are cassava peels, maize stalk, cocoa pod husk, maize cobs, rice straw, shea nut husk, groundnut husk, Palm kernel shells, EFB, rice husk, coconut husk/shells, cashew shells, and shea nut cake. Rankings of the alternatives under the four categories considered showed that feedstock blends containing four residues or more offer better opportunities for sustainable gasification than individual feedstock. Statistical analysis shows that there is a very strong, positive correlation between VIKOR, COPRAS, and TOPSIS. The strongest correlation is between VIKOR and TOPSIS with spearman's rank correlation index of 0.98. The analysis was sensitive to the weight of the strategy of group utility, recoverability ratio, residue-to-product ratio and annual crop production figures. It is recommended that optimal gasifier design and operational conditions taken into consideration the various feedstocks and their combination as determined from this study must be studied.

Assessment of planting soil temperature and growing degree day impacts on silage corn (Zea mays L.) biomass.

The annual forage crop production system, enclosing silage corn (Zea mays L.) and following cool-season annual forage, can enhance forage production efficiency where available land is limited for pasture production. In this forage production system, successful silage corn cultivation has a significant value due to the great yield of highly digestible forage. However, some untimely planting or harvesting of corn due to changing weather often reduces biomass and feeding values. Therefore, a study was conducted to quantify the corn silage biomass reductions by the deviations from optimum planting soil temperature and optimum growing degree day (GDD). The approximations of maximum corn production were estimated based on field trial data conducted between 1978 and 2018 with early, medium, and late-maturity corn groups. Based on weather data, the recorded planting dates and harvest dates were converted into the corresponding trials' soil temperatures at planting (STP) and the GDD. The silage corn biomass data were regressed against STP and GDD using a quadratic function. The maximum biomass point was modeled in a convex upward quadratic yield curve and the optimum STP and GDD were defined as those values at the maximum biomass for each maturity group. Optimized STP was at 16.6°C, 16.2°C, and 15.6°C for early, medium, and late maturity corn groups, respectively, while optimized GDD at harvest was at 1424, 1363, and 1542°C. The biomass reductions demonstrated quadratic functions by the departures of STP or GDD. The 5% reductions were anticipated when STP departed from the optimum temperature by 2.2°C, 2.4°C, and 1.4°C for early, medium, and late maturity corns, respectively; the same degree of reductions were estimated when the GDD departed by 200, 180, and 130°C in the same order of the maturity groups. This result indicates that biomass reductions of late-maturity corn were more sensitive to the departures of STP or GDD than the early-maturity corn. Therefore, early maturing cultivars are more stable in biomass production in a silage corn-winter annual forage crop production system to enhance forage-based livestock production efficiency.

Examining energy and nutrient production across the different agroecological zones in rural Ethiopia using statistical methods.

Poor-quality diets are of huge concern in areas where consumption is dominated by locally sourced foods that provide inadequate nutrients. In agroecologically diverse countries like Ethiopia, food production is also likely to vary spatially. Yet, little is known about how nutrient production varies by agroecology. Our study looked at the adequacy of essential nutrients from local production in the midland, highland, and upper highland agroecological zones (AEZs). Data were collected at the village level from the kebele agriculture office and at the farm and household levels through surveys in rural districts of the South Wollo zone, Ethiopia. Household data were acquired from 478 households, and crop samples were collected from 120 plots during the 2020 production year. Annual crop and livestock production across the three AEZs was converted into energy and nutrient supply using locally developed crops' energy and nutrient composition data. The total produced energy (kcal) met significant proportions of per capita energy demand in the highland and upper highland, while the supply had a 50% energy deficit in the midland. Shortfalls in per capita vitamin A supply decreased across the agroecological gradient from midland (46%) to upper highland (31%). The estimated shortfall in folate supply was significantly higher in the upper highlands (63%) and negligible in the highlands (2%). The risk of deficient iron and zinc supply was relatively low across all AEZs (<10%), but the deficiency risk of calcium was unacceptably high. Agroecology determines the choice of crop produced and, in this way, affects the available supply of energy and nutrients. Therefore, agroecological variations should be a key consideration when designing food system interventions dedicated to improving diets.

How will future climates in the Pakistani Punjab rice-wheat system affect the optimal agronomic settings, and can adaptation offset losses?

Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to future climatic changes, already with significant water and food sustainability issues. Rice and wheat production in the Pakistani Punjab is central to national food security and hence of particular concern. We sought to understand what optimal rice-wheat (RW) farmer agronomic practices (those which maximise RW system gross margins (GM) and irrigated water productivity (WPi)) look like under each of 6 projected future climate change scenarios for mid-century (2050). We also examined the impact on 2050 RW production if current farmer practices remained unchanged, to gauge the potential benefits of the optimal adaptations. Cropping systems simulation with a validated model (APSIM) enabled analysis of a broad range of current management practice modifications (6 agronomic management settings parameters, including crop sowing dates, varieties, fertiliser rates, and deficit irrigation strategies) in a large Monte-Carlo Matrix (96,768 elements) for the highest-yielding district in the Punjab, Gujranwala. We evaluated annual crop production, GM, WPi, nitrate leaching, and total system evapotranspiration (ET) for all combinations on an annual basis over a 31-year simulation period for each future climate scenario (as well as the historical record) seeking optimal parameter combinations within each. If current farmer practices were to remain unchanged into the future, we found reductions in farmer GM’s by 35–50% by 2050, with WPi decreasing even further (40–60%). Adaptation of current RW management practices is therefore essential. By adopting optimal practices now (derived using the historical climate record) we found that farmers also place themselves well for future climates and our study suggests they can maintain or maybe even increase current GM’s by 5–30% (depending on climate scenario) through smart adaptation. The best agronomic practices in 2050 look almost indistinguishable from the best agronomic practices now, regardless of future climate scenario chosen. However, compared with a hypothetical farmer operating under optimal practices now, our study suggests that a farmer in 2050 will earn considerably less, with gross margins under optimal practices falling by 25–40%, depending on which future climate scenario is considered. Declines are largely due to falling rice yields under future conditions (20–50% across examined climate scenarios), with wheat yields likely to be maintained or even slightly increased. Our study also indicated an increase in ET (10–15%) across all RW practices (regardless of future climate scenario and despite projections for generally reduced rainfall, runoff and drainage), compared with historical conditions. Our study suggests a rice varietal improvement need for heat tolerance, but that current wheat varieties are suitable to 2050.

Evaluating seedbank stimulants for wild oat and volunteer cereal management on the Canadian Prairies

Wild oat is a widespread threat to annual crop production on the Canadian Prairies. Infestations are difficult to manage due to a persistent seedbank, complex dormancy, a long emergence window, herbicide resistance, and seed shatter corresponding to crop harvest timings. The study objective was to evaluate the efficacy of potassium nitrate (KNO3) and pyroligneous acid for promoting germination and emergence of wild oat and volunteer wheat, barley, and oat. A total of 24 repeated experiments were conducted using freshly produced seeds to ensure adequate endodormancy. Wheat and barley demonstrated no endodormancy following seed formation and rapidly emerged with moisture. All species imbibed but did not germinate in Petri dishes within pyroligneous acid solutions of 5%–100%. Dormancy release was observed within 0.1% and 1% pyroligneous acid solutions. KNO3 did not stimulate germination or emergence for any species and was inhibitory at 125 kg N ha−1. Pyroligneous acid increased wild oat emergence with 50% and 100% solutions applied at 200 L ha−1 in the first study and with 10% solutions in the second study. Emergence inhibition was noted for oat, barley, and wheat with pyroligneous acid applications. This research further confirms that pyroligneous acid may stimulate wild oat emergence and confirms activity on freshly matured seed.

Soil bacterial community response to continuous cropping of cotton.

Long-term continuous cropping may result in the outbreak and proliferation of soil-borne diseases, as well as reduction in annual crop production. Overcoming the obstacles of continuous cropping is critical for the long-term growth of modern agriculture. Soil microbes are essential for plant health, but the consequences of continuous cropping on soil microbiome are still poorly understood. This study analyzed changes in soil bacterial community composition of Aksu (AKS) and Shihezi (SHZ) in Xinjiang Province during 1-20 years of continuous cropping by 16S amplicon sequencing. The results showed that the incidence of cotton Verticillium wilt rose with the number of cropping years. The bacterial alpha diversity in the AKS soil grew as the number of continuous cropping years increased, however it declined in the SHZ soil. The results of beta diversity analysis showed that there were significant differences in soil bacterial communities between different continuous cropping years and between different soils. The results of community composition changes at the level of main phyla and genus showed that the relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Streptomyces decreased with the increase of continuous cropping years in the AKS and the SHZ soils. In addition, Actinobacteria, Propionibacteriales, and Nocardioidaceae were significantly enriched during the early stages of continuous cropping. Network analysis showed that long-term (≥8 years) continuous cropping interfered with the complexity of soil bacterial co-occurrence networks and reduced collaboration between OTUs. These findings suggested that continuous cropping and soil origin jointly affected the diversity and structural of bacterial communities, and the loss of Nocardioidaceae and Streptomyces in Actinobacteria might be one of the reasons of continuous cropping obstacles.

Large‐scale deployment of grass in crop rotations as a multifunctional climate mitigation strategy

AbstractThe agriculture sector can contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing its own greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, sequestering carbon in vegetation and soils, and providing biomass to substitute for fossil fuels and other GHG‐intensive products. The sector also needs to address water, soil, and biodiversity impacts caused by historic and current practices. Emerging EU policies create incentives for cultivation of perennial plants that provide biomass along with environmental benefits. One such option, common in northern Europe, is to include grass in rotations with annual crops to provide biomass while remediating soil organic carbon (SOC) losses and other environmental impacts. Here, we apply a spatially explicit model on &gt;81,000 sub‐watersheds in EU27 + UK (Europe) to explore the effects of widespread deployment of such systems. Based on current accumulated SOC losses in individual sub‐watersheds, the model identifies and quantifies suitable areas for increased grass cultivation and corresponding biomass‐ and protein supply, SOC sequestration, and reductions in nitrogen emissions to water as well as wind and water erosion. The model also provides information about possible flood mitigation. The results indicate a substantial climate mitigation potential, with combined annual GHG savings from soil‐carbon sequestration and displacement of natural gas with biogas from grass‐based biorefineries, equivalent to 13%–48% of current GHG emissions from agriculture in Europe. The environmental co‐benefits are also notable, in some cases exceeding the estimated mitigation needs. Yield increases for annual crops in modified rotations mitigate the displacement effect of increasing grass cultivation. If the grass is used as feedstock in lieu of annual crops, the displacement effect can even be negative, that is, a reduced need for annual crop production elsewhere. Incentivizing widespread deployment will require supportive policy measures as well as new uses of grass biomass, for example, as feedstock for green biorefineries producing protein concentrate, biofuels, and other bio‐based products.

Comparison of crop yield and solar thermal utilization among different rice–wheat cropping systems

AbstractPlanting patterns have significant effects on rice growth. Nonetheless, little is known about differences in annual crop yield and resource utilization among mechanized rice planting patterns in a rice–wheat cropping system. Field experiments were conducted from 2014 to 2017 using three treatments: pot seedling transplanting for rice and row sowing for wheat (PST-RS), carpet seedling transplanting for rice and row sowing for wheat (CST-RS) and row sowing for both crops (RS-RS). The results showed that, compared with RS-RS, PST-RS and CST-RS prolonged annual crop growth duration by 25–26 and 13–15 days, increased effective accumulated temperature by 399 and 212°C days and increased cumulative solar radiation by 454 and 228 MJ/m2 because of the earlier sowing of rice by 28 and 16 days in PST-RS and CST-RS, respectively. Compared with RS-RS, the annual crop yield of PST-RS and CST-RS increased by 3.1–3.8 and 2.0–2.6 t/ha, respectively, because of the increase in the number of spikelets/kernels per hectare, aboveground biomass, mean leaf area index and grain–leaf ratio. In addition, temperature production efficiency, solar radiation production efficiency and solar radiation use efficiency were higher in PST-RS, followed by CST-RS and RS-RS. These results suggest that mechanized rice planting patterns such as PST-RS increase annual crop production in rice–wheat cropping systems by increasing yield and solar energy utilization.

Sustainable IoT Solution for Freshwater Aquaculture Management

In recent years, we have seen the impact of global warming on changing weather patterns. The changing weather patterns have shown a significant effect on the annual rainfall. Due to the lack of annual rainfall, developing countries like India have seen a substantial loss in annual crop production. Indian economy largely depends on agro products. To compensate for the economic loss, the Indian government encouraged the farmers to do integrated aquaculture-based farming. Despite government subsidies and training programs, most farmers find it difficult to succeed in aquaculture-based farming. Aquaculture farming needs skills to maintain and monitor underwater environments. The lack of skills for monitoring and maintenance makes the aquaculture business more difficult for farmers. To simplify the pearl farming aquaculture, we have proposed an Internet of Things (IoT)-based intelligent monitoring and maintenance system. The proposed system monitors the water quality and maintains an adequate underwater environment for better production. To maintain an aquaculture environment, we have forecasted the change in water parameters using an ensemble learning method based on random forests (RF). The performance of the RF model compared with the linear regression (LR), support vector regression (SVR), and gradient boosting machine (GBM). The obtained results show that the RF model outperformed the forecast of the DO with 1.428 mean absolute error (MAE) and pH with 0.141 MAE.

Evaluating Strip and No-Till Maintenance of Perennial Groundcovers for Annual Grain Production

Perennial groundcover (PGC) merges scalable soil and water conservation with high-yielding row crops, enhancing ecosystem services of annual grain crop production. However, ineffective groundcover suppression increases competition between the groundcover and row crop, reducing row crop grain yield. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of three Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) groundcover suppression methods each at narrow and wide widths on maize (Zea mays L.) growth and development in evenly spaced PGC, compared to alternating PGC swards and a no-PGC conventional tillage control. Suppression methods for evenly spaced PGC included two different strip tillage implements, completing either shallow or deep soil fracture, for mechanical suppression and a banded sprayer for no-tillage chemical suppression. We measured weekly for maize plant height, phenological stage of development, reflected red:far-red (R:FR) ratio, early vegetative and final plant density, grain and stover yield, yield components of kernel rows ear−1, kernels row−1, kernels ear−1, ear length, kernel weight, grass frequency, and weed community. In 2020, maize grain yield in the alternating PGC swards (11.38 Mg ha−1) was similar to the control (12.78 Mg ha−1) and greater than in the evenly spaced groundcover (9.62 Mg ha−1). Maize grain yield was similar for systems in 2021 (7.41 Mg ha−1), due to drought and high coefficient of variation. Weed community was similar for systems in both years. A maize competition response was observed for both suppression widths across methods. Groundcover dormancy may be needed in conjunction with effective chemical and/or mechanical groundcover suppression to support maize production in PGC.

Building sustainable societies through vertical soilless farming: A cost-effectiveness analysis on a small-scale non-greenhouse hydroponic system

• Economic feasibility for a small-scale vertical hydroponic farming system for vegetable production under non-controlled environmental conditions. • Net present value, Internal rate of return, Payback period, Profitability index, scenario, sensitivity and regression analysis of hydroponic farming. • Smart urban farming methods for sustainable societies and cities in low developed countries. • Costs and benefits of vertical soilless farming systems (hydroponics). The growing rate of population and urbanization among African cities versus the reducing arable land has roused curiosity in soilless farming as an urban farming method to enhance food security and urban sustainability. This study investigated the economic viability of producing 60 heads of lettuce using a vertical non-circulating hydroponic system outside the green house as a low cost sustainable urban food production prospect for Africa. This was based on a hydroponic experiment set up in Uganda, East Africa 4 capital budgeting techniques were used for the analysis, that is; Net Present Value (NPV), Profitability index (PI), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Non-discounted Pay Back Period (NDPBP). A sensitivity and scenario analysis were adopted for risk analysis while regression analysis was considered for forecasting and modelling purposes. A discount rate of 10% was considered for the analysis based on the loan borrowing rate. The unit production cost equaled to 0.46$/head and sale price was estimated at 0.75/head. Initial costs deemed necessary for annual production were estimated at 171.1$. Results showed the following economic values: NPV (16.37$), IRR (12.57%), PI (1.1) and NDPBP (4,5) for annual crop production of 6 cycles. NPV was sensitive to changes in discount rate and unit price while revenue varied with a change in quantities sold and unit price as per the scenario analysis. A significant negative and positive linear relationship was found between unit price of lettuce versus quantity sold and revenue earned correspondingly. Adoption of vertical hydroponic lettuce production can be considered an equally cost-effective venture with substantial profits cetris paribus with the potential to increase food security and sustainability around urbanities. Further research needs to be done to assess the profitability of producing other vegetables using the same system across various seasons and cities.

Determinants of Decision Making by Smallholder Farmers on Land Allocation for Small-Scale Forest Management in Northwestern Ethiopian Highlands

Smallholder farmers in the northwestern Ethiopian Highlands are highly engaged in small-scale forest management. Participation in this activity can provide a key source of income for the farmers as well as wider benefits to the environment. To gain a better understanding of how spatial and socio-ecological factors determine farmers’ engagements in small-scale forest management, we conducted a comparative study in three Districts of northwestern Ethiopia. We used a mixed method approach including both quantitative (n = 375) and qualitative (n = 45) surveys to understand farmers’ motivations and decisions in three Districts of northwestern Ethiopia. We found that there were a number of factors motivating farmers’ decisions to participate, including land degradation and decline in crop productivity (in Fagta Lekoma District); adverse impact of adjacent woodlots (in North Mecha District); and increasing demand of wood products (in Guna Begemidir District). Further analysis on the extent of farmer engagement revealed that their decision to increase or decrease the share of land allocated to woodlots is heavily dependent on the comparative socio-economic benefits of woodlots and distance to markets. Other key (District-specific) determinant factors included wealth status, soil fertility status, gender, adult equivalent value, total land holding size, and annual crop production risk perception. Our findings suggest that to increase the uptake of woodlots, we would need to adopt a demand-driven forestry extension approach, which considers the heterogeneity of farmers and farm characteristics. Further research is required to quantify the optimal level of land allocation for small-scale forest management.

Effects of temporary agroforestry systems and weeding techniques on the control of invasive species in Atlantic Forest restoration

The restoration of tropical forests is greatly in demand but is limited by the lack of feasible technologies. Forest restoration can be associated with a temporary, productive herbaceous layer. Here, we compared the use of temporary agroforestry systems (tAFS) with conventional forest restoration through seedling planting. We quantified the growth estimators of native forest tree species and the effectiveness of the two methods for controlling invasive grasses. Seedlings of 20 native tree species were planted in 72 rows of 60 m each, totaling 1148 individuals. The restoration methods of planting tree seedlings only or trees coupled with herbaceous species (annual crops), along with weed control methods (mechanical and chemical), were systematically established in 12 plots (7920 m2 for conventional techniques and 7920 m2 for tAFS) per treatment (3960 m2 each) and analyzed in a nested design using generalized mixed models. The chemical control of weeds was conducted using herbicides, and the mechanical control consisted of semimechanized mowing. The tAFS showed greater relative growth in both the height and diameter of native trees in comparison with the conventional method. Within the conventional restoration technique, chemical management led to an increased height of native trees and a decreased invasive biomass, but tAFS showed no differences between the invasive control methods. tAFS was efficient in ensuring the success of the tree seedlings and diminishing the invasive biomass, concomitant with the production of annual crops in tropical forest restoration.