Field Crops Research Articles

Crops Disease Detection, from Leaves to Field: What We Can Expect from Artificial Intelligence

Agriculture is dealing with numerous challenges of increasing production while decreasing the amount of chemicals and fertilizers used. The intensification of agricultural systems has been linked to the use of these inputs which nevertheless have negative consequences for the environment. With new technologies, and progress in precision agriculture associated with decision support systems for farmers, the objective is to optimize their use. This review focused on the progress made in utilizing machine learning and remote sensing to detect and identify crop diseases that may help farmers to (i) choose the right treatment, the most adapted to a particular disease, (ii) treat diseases at early stages of contamination, and (iii) maybe in the future treat only where it is necessary or economically profitable. The state of the art has shown significant progress in the detection and identification of disease at the leaf scale in most of the cultivated species, but less progress is done in the detection of diseases at the field scale where the environment is complex and applied only in some field crops.

Living in the vicinity of pesticide-treated crop fields: Exploring associated perceptions and psychological aspects in relation to self-reported and registry-based health symptoms.

Exposure to pesticides in the living environment can be associated with the prevalence of health symptoms. This study investigates associations between health symptoms among residents in areas with fruit crop fields where pesticides are applied, and psychological perceptions and attitudes about environmental aspects and exposures. A cross-sectional survey combined with routine primary care electronic health records (EHR) data was conducted in 2017 in rural areas of the Netherlands with high concentration of fruit crops (n = 3,321, aged ≥ 16 years). Individual exposure to pesticides was estimated using geocoded data on fruit crops around the home. Validated instruments were used to assess symptom report and psychological perceptions and attitudes. Annual prevalence of various health symptoms was derived from EHRs. Multilevel regression models were used to analyze associations between health symptoms (outcome), fruit crops, and multiple psychological perceptions and attitudes (confounders). Living in the vicinity of fruit crop fields was generally not associated with self-reported symptom duration and general practitioner (GP) registered symptoms. For self-reported symptoms, symptom prevalence decreased when crop density within 250m and 500m from the home increased. No associations were found at other distances. Furthermore, higher levels of environmental worries, perceived exposure, and perceived sensitivity to pesticides and attribution of symptoms to environmental exposures were generally associated with a higher number of self-reported symptoms, and longer symptom duration. Symptoms reported to GPs were not associated with psychological perceptions and attitudes, except for perceived sensitivity to pesticides. Psychological perceptions and attitudes appear to be related to self-reported symptoms, but not to GP-registered symptoms, independent of the actual levels of exposure as measured by the size of the area of crop fields. Perceptions about environmental factors should be taken into account in environmental health risk assessment research when studying health symptoms.

Adaptive Agronomic Strategies for Enhancing Cereal Yield Resilience Under Changing Climate in Poland

Climate-driven changes have raised concerns about their long-term impacts on the yield resilience of cereal crops. This issue is critical in Poland as it affects major cereal crops like winter triticale, spring wheat, winter wheat, spring barley, and winter barley. This study investigates how soil nutrient profiles, fertilization practices, and crop management conditions influence the yield resilience of key cereal crops over a thirteen-year period (2009–2022) in the context of changing climate expressed as varying Climatic Water Balance. Data from 47 locations provided by the Research Centre for Cultivar Testing were analyzed to assess the combined effects of agronomic practices and climate-related water availability on crop performance. Yield outcomes under moderate and enhanced management practices were contrasted using Classification and Regression Trees to evaluate the relationships between yield variations and agronomic factors, including soil pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium fertilization, and levels of phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium in the soil. The study found a downward trend in Climatic Water Balance, highlighting the increasing influence of climate change on regional water resources. Crop yields responded positively to increased agricultural inputs, especially nitrogen. Optimal soil pH and medium phosphorus levels were identified as crucial for maximizing yield. The findings underscore the importance of tailored nutrient management and adaptive strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of climate variability on cereal production. The results provide insights for field crop research and practical approaches to sustain cereal production in changing climatic conditions.

Isolation and characterization of halophilic Bacillus thuringiensis from local Egyptian sites and their potential against Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract Background Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) serves as a peculiar soil microbe that is Gram-positive, rod-shaped, spore-forming, and aerobic facultative. It endures across a range of conditions and has been demonstrated to be an effective biological pest control agent against several insect pests. The main objective of the study is to isolate and recognize Bt bacteria from saline environments in Egyptian soil for biological surveillance uses. Results Isolates three, four, five, ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen were found to be moderately tolerant, while isolate eight showed highly tolerant, but isolate six was found to be borderline extreme halophile. On the other hand, the other isolates showed extreme halophiles. To find out the presence of crystals, a scanning electron microscope was carried out and the result showed that the crystals ranged from spherical to bi-pyramidal spherical. Molecular analysis was carried out using universal primers to confirm the presence of cry genes. The results showed that 84.6% of the isolates contain cry seven and eight, whereas cry one and four are distributed by 92.3%. Cry two genes were found to be 100 percent in all tested and isolated cultures. Cry genes were present and distribution among isolated was detected using gene-specific primers. cry3Ba1 and cry8B showed the lowest and equal distribution among the isolates, while the cry2Ab2gene frequency distribution was (84.6%) among isolated cultures. Around six cry genes were found to be absent in all isolated cultures. The bioinsecticidal activity and bioassays were carried out to check the potential effect of halophilic Bt isolates against 1st instar larvae of the Fall Armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Mortality was calculated after infecting S. frugiperda with thirteen Bt isolates. The most virulent Bt isolate was isolate 7, followed by isolate 10, with LC50 values of 9.542 × 107 spores/ml and 1.289 × 108 spores/ml, respectively, after 72 h. Morphological traits of the larvae were carried out, to check the effect of Bt isolates as a biological control against the FAW. Conclusion To protect and enhance the sustainability of field crops and vegetables, especially in new high salinity lands, from disease-causing insects such as FAW, it is necessary to identify new strains of Bt from these saline lands. In this field, local isolates of Bt from several regions in Egypt known for their high levels of salinity were documented and showed an effective bioinsecticide on FAW larvae.

Global Invasion of Thrips parvispinus (Karny) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Across Three Continents Associated With Its One Haplotype

ABSTRACTThrips parvispinus (Karny) is an exotic pest that has invaded many regions around the world in the last three decades. It was first detected in Florida in 2020 on ornamental plants (Hoya and Anthurium) in greenhouses and subsequently on ornamental plants in residential landscapes (Gardenia) in 2021. However, its first report on open vegetable field crops (Capsicum) in Florida was in 2022. We conducted field surveys and genetic analysis to answer three questions: (1) Is the population of T. parvispinus that invaded Florida the same as the one that has spread globally in the last few decades? (2) Is the host expansion to Capsicum in Florida a new population or the extension of the existing population reported on ornamental plants? and (3) What are the native and invaded distribution ranges of T. parvispinus? We analysed the genetic variation in the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I (COI) to address these questions. The global genetic diversity analysis of T. parvispinus revealed 18 haplotypes (populations) worldwide based on available data, but only one population (Hap1) invaded three continents: Africa, Europe, and North America. Based on available data, the highest haplotype diversity was observed in India, suggesting India may be part of the presumed native range (South and Southeast Asian countries) of T. parvispinus. Our survey of retail plant stores across 10 Florida counties indicated that plant trade is the source of T. parvispinus in open vegetable field crops and ornamental landscape plants. The outcome of this study will assist with regulatory and management decisions of T. parvispinus in Florida and elsewhere.

Survey on Influence of Cultural Practices on Banana Pseudostem Weevil, Odoiporus longicollis Olivier (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Infestation in Major Banana Growing Districts of Northern Karnataka, India

The production and productivity of banana is governed by many biotic and abiotic factors. Among biotic factors, incidence of insect-pests is considered as one of the major impedimentin successful cultivation of banana. With respect to the Indian condition around eight pests commonly infest the banana crop. However, the banana pseudostem weevil Odoiporus longicollis is cosmopolite insect pest that threatens the banana cultivation. The most common management practices followed for managing this pest includes cultural practices. Diverse cultural practices have been communicated to and/or applied by resource-poor households over the past two decades to improve the overall farm health and crop tolerance to biotic/abiotic factors. Therefore, cultural practices are the only measures available to small-scale farmers for the control of banana pseudostem weevil. Hence the survey was conducted during 2020-21 to study the influence of cultural practices on O. longicollis infestation in major banana growing districts of north Karnataka. From the survey results on the cultural practices reveals that the pest severity was more severe on ratoon crop fields and the frequency recorded was 37.82%. However, the frequency recorded was 1.68% in first crop, wherein no pest infestation was recorded in main crop. Whereas, good number of farmers could not make a difference in infestation of pest between main and ratoon crop (60.50%) and in such fields infestation level was 4.11%. The banana farmers who were interacted mainly used suckers (36.13%) and tissue culture plants (36.13%) for planting followed by rhizome (24.37%), whereas few farmers used suckers and rhizomes (3.36%) for planting in a single piece of land. Accordingly, the per cent infestation of BPW was less when both tissue cultured plants (4.84%) and suckers (5.53%) used for planting. Whereas, infestation was more severe when both suckers and rhizomes were used (27.50%) on same piece of land and which was followed by rhizomes alone (16.00%).

Enhancing sustainable Chinese cabbage production: a comparative analysis of multispectral image instance segmentation techniques

Accurate instance segmentation of individual crops is crucial for field management and crop monitoring in smart agriculture. To address the limitations of traditional remote sensing methods in individual crop analysis, this study proposes a novel instance segmentation approach combining UAVs with the YOLOv8-Seg model. The YOLOv8-Seg model supports independent segmentation masks and detection at different scales, utilizing Path Aggregation Feature Pyramid Networks (PAFPN) for multi-scale feature integration and optimizing sample matching through the Task-Aligned Assigner. We collected multispectral data of Chinese cabbage using UAVs and constructed a high-quality dataset via semi-automatic annotation with the Segment Anything Model (SAM). Using mAP as the evaluation metric, we compared YOLO series algorithms with other mainstream instance segmentation methods and analyzed model performance under different spectral band combinations and spatial resolutions. The results show that YOLOv8-Seg achieved 86.3% mAP under the RGB band and maintained high segmentation accuracy at lower spatial resolutions (1.33 ~ 1.14 cm/pixel), successfully extracting key metrics such as cabbage count and average leaf area. These findings highlight the potential of integrating UAV technology with advanced segmentation models for individual crop monitoring, supporting precision agriculture applications.

Investigating the association between dry deposition of cesium and different growth stages of aboveground parts of Chinese yam.

Radiocesium released into the atmosphere from accidents at nuclear facilities, can be deposited on the surface of the surrounding crop fields as dry and wet deposits. Radiocesium deposition can occur at any time during the growth season. In this study, we used stable cesium (Cs) to investigate the changes in dry Cs deposits on surfaces of aboveground parts of Chinese yam (Dioscorea polystachya) during different growth stages. Chinese yam seedlings were grown for eight different lengths of time and were then simultaneously exposed to aerosol particles containing stable Cs in an aerosol exposure chamber for 5h. The deposition density of Cs on the aboveground parts of the seedlings decreased from 29 to 72d after transplantation (DAT) and did not change significantly after 72 DAT. The Cs deposition density on the seedlings on different DAT correlated with the leaf area available for the deposition of aerosol Cs particles.

Organic farming and semi‐natural habitats for multifunctional agriculture: A case study in hedgerow landscapes of Brittany

Abstract Finding more sustainable ways to produce food is a major challenge for humanity in the face of biodiversity extinction and climate change. Consequently, research on the ability of agroecosystems to provide multiple functions is growing. In this regard, the relative importance of organic farming and landscape‐scale measures for improving multifunctionality has recently been debated. We investigated the effects of farming system (conventional vs. organic) at field scale, total length of hedgerows in the landscape and their interaction on the multifunctionality of 40 winter cereal fields in Brittany (France). Our multifunctionality assessment integrated 21 indicators of five agroecosystem goods: biodiversity conservation, nutrient cycling and soil structure, pest and disease regulation, food production and socio‐economic performance. Many indicators of biodiversity conservation, pest and disease regulation, and socio‐economic performance were higher in organic than in conventional systems. However, indicators of nutrient cycling and soil structure did not improve and food production was much lower in organic systems. Total hedgerow length in the landscape had less influence than organic farming on indicators, although we observed positive interactions. Granivorous carabid abundance and semi‐net margin were highest in organic fields located in well‐preserved hedgerow landscapes. Synthesis and applications. Our study suggests that field‐scale organic farming is necessary to promote biodiversity conservation and associated ecological functioning in crop fields, whereas landscape‐scale preservation of semi‐natural habitats alone is likely insufficient. Preservation of hedgerows in the landscape brings additional ecological and socio‐economic benefits for organic systems without compromising agricultural production. More broadly, our results call for more ambitious research into the myriad possible combinations of farming practices and agri‐environmental measures at both field and landscape scales, to improve both below‐ground and above‐ground functioning.

From marginal croplands to natural habitats: A methodological framework for assessing the restoration potential to enhance wild-bee pollination in agricultural landscapes.

Intensive agriculture increases crop yields, but harms biodiversity and associated ecosystem services such as pollination. To sustain wild-bee pollination in intensive agricultural landscapes, a minimum of (semi-) natural habitat is needed in the vicinity of crop fields. However, restoration of (semi-) natural habitat is a challenge, especially when most land is allocated to commodity production. To evaluate the restoration potential of marginal lands to enhance pollination in intensive agricultural landscapes. We simulated restoration scenarios in marginal agricultural lands (abandoned and degraded fields, and field edges) in La Vallée-du-Richelieu (Quebec, Canada), aimed at enhancing pollination provision and increasing (semi-) natural habitat coverage by at least 20% within 1km from crop fields, the estimated minimum amount required to sustain wild-bee populations. We then evaluated the extent to which restoration targets were reached in our scenarios. More than half of the agricultural region studied remained with less than 20% (semi-) natural area coverage, and wild-bee pollination provision could not be ensured across the whole agricultural region after restoration. However, our results show that there is still an important potential for increasing natural habitat coverage by restoring marginal agricultural lands alone. Restoration of marginal lands has a key role to play in the transition towards multifunctionality of production landscapes but might not be sufficient to achieve goals such as those adopted at the COP15 (e.g., restoring 30% of degraded land). Our framework can assist landscape planners in evaluating the restoration potential of agricultural landscapes, as well as its limitations. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10980-024-01993-y.

Agronomic Practices for Management of Ginger Bacterial wilt Disease: A Review

Ginger is one of the most important spices, particularly for small-scale farmers in Ethiopia. However, bacterial wilt is a major constraint to ginger production, and it was reported for the first time in 2012. The disease is caused by the bacteria <i>Ralstonia</i> <i>solanacearum</i>. Common symptoms in infected plants include wilting, stunting, yellowing of foliage, and rhizome rot. The disease is now widespread across all ginger-growing regions worldwide, spreading through soil, water, infected rhizomes, and plant debris. A major challenge in managing bacterial wilt has been the lack of effective control methods. This review primarily focuses on recent advances in control measures, including agronomic and cultural practices such as soil amendment, rhizome treatment, and other cultural practices. Soil and rhizome solarization has proven to be a cost-effective method that is compatible with other pest management tactics. Furthermore, the use of organic matter such as crop residue and animal manure has been investigated as a means of inducing <i>R. solanacearum</i> suppression since it enhances the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of soil. The application of certain plants and their essential oils as bio-fumigants has also been examined as an alternative approach to managing bacterial wilt as part of an integrated disease management system. Crop rotation, tillage, and field sanitation play vital roles in disease management. Furthermore, other farm practices, such as the use of healthy seeds, cultivation in disease-free areas, cover crops, bio-mulch, and regular field inspection, also contribute to the suppression of this pathogen. Overall, employing agronomic and cultural practices in combination with an integrated disease management strategy offers a promising approach for controlling bacterial wilt and ensuring sustainable ginger production.

Cu Concentration in Vegetable-Cultivated Soil: Comparison Between Open Fields and Protected Environments in Brazil

High copper (Cu) concentration in soils used for vegetable production is an agricultural, social and environmental issue. The excess of Cu in soil can cause toxicity in plants, reducing growth and yields. Moreover, Cu can also be absorbed and accumulated in edible organs, increasing risks for human health. This study aimed to compare Cu fractions in soils: (1) non-cultivated, natural soil (NC), (2) soils cultivated with open field crops (FCs) and (3) soils cultivated in controlled environments (CEs). The survey was carried out on 25 sites in Rio Grande do Sul (Southern Brazil), with each site containing the three types of soils described above. From these sites, the four with the highest soil Cu concentrations were selected to compare soluble (Cu-CaCl2), available (Cu-EDTA) and total (Cu-EPA) Cu. Both total and available soil Cu concentration in soil solution, in CE and FC areas were higher than in NC. At sites 23R1 (Oxisol) and 11R1 (Molisol) the soluble and available Cu content was higher in the FC environment than in CEs, and the same was observed for the total Cu content at sites 23R1 (Oxisol) and 9R1 (Molisol). Some FC soils showed total Cu concentrations higher than the limits established by Brazilian environmental legislation, being, as a consequence, potentially contaminated. Soil monitoring and cropping practices must be adopted to reduce the Cu content in soils of vegetable crops in this region.

Exploring Diversity and Abundance of Stingless Bee using Clustering Approach

Stingless bees are paramount in food chain as they are important pollinators of field crops. Recent studies revealed that these bees are seriously threatened by climate change and rapid urbanization across the world. It is thus important to study the relationship between the stingless bee’s diversity and the characteristics of the locations they inhibit. At the same time, clustering algorithms is a powerful machine learning approach in exploring unsupervised data. Consequently, this study aims to explore the stingless bee diversity in Malaysia through hierarchical, k-means and DBSCAN clustering. The dataset of this study consists of individual stingless bees collected from 12 locations. It comprises 14 environmental features, 3 physical characteristics, 35 species count, 12 genera counts and 3 diversity-and-abundance weights. A four-stage methodology is employed in the study. The results show that DBSCAN effectively groups data into clusters that are well-defined, but the results are less informative. In contrast, hierarchical and k-means clustering are found producing results that provide clearer insights, with hierarchical clustering delivering notably richer results.

Conservation Agriculture and Crop Residue Management

India being a populous country the intensification of the cropping system is mandatory. However, this intensification of the cropping system results in the degradation of soil and other natural resources. Considering this situation, conservation agriculture is the most suitable alternative to achieving sustainable yield and productivity. Conservation agriculture is based on three major principles those are minimum disturbance of soil, crop rotation, and maintenance of crop residue. Crop residue management plays a major role in conservation agriculture as it helps in improving soil productivity, soil organic matter content, soil structure, soil water conservation, air quality, and reduction in soil erosion. India produces 273 Mt of crop residues annually which contain a total of 7.16 Mt of nutrients (N-1.28, P2O5-1.97, K2O-3.91). In modern agriculture, green manure crops like Sesbania and sunhemp increase the quantity and quality of the crop residues in the crop field. Among various residue management practices mulching has been practiced prominently in dry lands as it increases the resource use efficiency. The residue decomposition is affected by various factors like quality of crop residue, edaphic, management, and climatic factors. In modern scientific research crop residues are being used especially for site-specific nutrient management. It is observed in most studies that zero tillage or reduced tillage with crop residue gives comparatively higher net returns, water use efficiency, and resource use efficiency than conventional agriculture. In Indian context. The management of rice residue particularly in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India is challenging, where the rice-wheat cropping system is intensively followed and the farmers are more anxious about timely seeding of wheat in combine harvested paddy fields (Sidhu et al., 2007; Singh et al., 2020).

Assessment of Biology and Fertility Life Table of Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus Predating on Mustard Aphid, Lipaphis erysimi Kaltenbach

Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.), commonly known as the mustard aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae), is the most notorious, globally distributed, and obligatory ectoparasite of many field crop including rapeseed and mustard. An investigation was carried out to assess the biology and fertility life table of Coccinella septempunctata in Bio-control lab, Department of Entomology at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar following the standard protocol at the laboratory condition of temperature (T) 25±2°C, relative humidity (RH) 65±5% RH, and 16:8 light:dark (L:D). Biological studies revealed that Coccinella septempunctata (L.), predatoryfemale laying eggs either singly or in masses (546.90 eggs/female) were vibrant yellowand spindle shape with an incubation period of 3.50 days. Hatchability was 86.00±5.62 per cent. There were four grub instars followed by pre-pupal stage, mean grub duration of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th instar was 1.68±0.47, 3.18±0.60, 3.08±0.65 and 5.02±0.73 days. Total grub duration extended for 12.97±0.61 days. Larval survival was 74.44 per cent, followed by a pre-pupal period of 1.05±0.18 days and pupal duration of 5.93±0.86 days. Total grubs and pupal period were computed to be 18.90 ± 1.16 days with adult emergence 77.22 per cent. Total developmental period, from egg to adult was 23.45±1.20 days. Adult became darker in colour and have seven spots, three on each wing and one in the middle, near the head and act as predator to control mustard aphid. Females of beetle survived longer than the males with ovipositional period of 23.10 days and preponderance of female has been noticed with female: male ratio of 1.62: 1 in the study.

Biological Control of Aphids in China: Successes and Prospects.

Aphids are small, soft-bodied insects, and many are notorious pests of field crops, vegetables, fruit trees, ornamental plants, and trees. In China, there is an increasing emphasis on utilizing biological control agents, including aphidopathogenics, and selective pesticides for the management of aphids. In particular, preventive integrated pest management strategies with early interventions reduce the financial and environmental costs associated with treatments of outbreaks. Decades of progress have proved that biological control is a cost-effective and environmentally safe control option. Here, we review the history and progress of aphid control, with an emphasis on major natural enemies, mass-rearing, and conservation, and provide two successful cases, constraints, and future perspectives on aphid biological control in China.

A life cycle assessment of cover crop ensiling and co-digestion with cattle manure

AbstractCover crops offer a potential biogas feedstock, and to enable continuous operation of the biogas plant, ensiling can be used for biomass preservation. The aim of the present study was to assess the environmental impacts of biogas production at an organic dairy farm for two modelled scenarios: (1) harvesting and ensiling of cover crops and cereal straw and co-digestion with cattle manure, or (2) mono-digestion of cattle manure and direct cover crop soil incorporation. The biogas scenarios were modelled in a consequential LCA in relation to a common baseline without anaerobic digestion, with cover crop soil incorporation and field application of raw cattle manure. Biogas scenarios resulted in decreased global warming impacts of (1) 250 and (2) 120 Mg CO2eq for a 1000-hectare example dairy farm due to substitution of natural gas. However, emissions from ensiling, biogas plant operation, and agronomic effects increased other environmental impacts. Agronomic modelling with the Daisy model showed a crop yield increase of 0.11 Mg DM ha−1 year−1 on a sandy loam soil with cover crop digestion, but also an increase in N leaching of 38% and a decrease in soil C stocks of 8.1 Mg C ha−1 over 100 years relative to the reference. Emissions of VOCs and NOx during ensiling increased ozone formation and negative impacts on human health and ecosystems, although further research is needed to better understand these emissions. In conclusion, this modelling study shows that greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by using ensiled cover crops for co-digestion with manure when biogas is used to substitute fossil gas, although trade-offs with other environmental categories must be considered.

Benefit of weeds for crop-plant mycobiota in agroecosystems: Integrating ecological demonstration and management applicability

Agricultural intensification reduces not only biodiversity in agroecosystems but also key ecosystem functions such as soil fertility. By reintroducing biological diversity in fields, weeds may enhance soil biological fertility through their influence on crop microbiota. However, letting weeds grow in crop fields will depend on weed competitiveness, farmers’ perception and acceptance, and on crop management, which influences the occurrence and the abundance of weeds in the field. This study assessed the use of eight weed species to modify wheat plant root endospheric mycobiota, and the applicability of using these plants for mycobiota enrichment in the field. By combining controlled lab experiments and field studies, we demonstrated that weeds act either as a refuge for a high diversity of fungi or as a vector for transferring fungi to the crop, particularly symbionts. Weeds differed in their competitive effect on wheat growth and only three species significantly reduced wheat growth. Interviews with farmers’ revealed that weed species were better known and more appreciated in crop fields by organic farmers than by conventional farmers. Floristic surveys confirmed that both weed occurrence and cover were higher in organic fields than in conventional fields. A multicriteria analysis showed that Trifolium repens and V. persica had the highest potential for promoting wheat plant mycobiota. Among the weed species tested, these two are worth considering as auxiliaries to improve soil biological fertility in crop fields. Their use with the goal of selecting appropriate crop mycobiota should be relatively easier in organic farms where weeds are better accepted, whereas their use in conventional farms would require raising farmers’ awareness of the benefits of weeds for soil fertility.

Plant Species Diversity and Composition Differ Significantly Between the Boundaries of Kettle Holes and Field Borders.

The boundaries around habitat islands in agricultural fields are rather unexamined, although they may be an important part of agroecosystems in some regions. In this study, we surveyed field boundaries in northeastern Brandenburg both at outer field borders and around kettle holes, which are typical habitat islands in the region. We examined, described, and compared the plant species diversity and composition at both the inner and outer field boundaries in the arable fields (crop edge) as well as in permanent vegetation (field margins). Diversity was assessed and compared with Hill diversity values, using the iNext framework. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and permutational analysis of variance were used to compare species composition at different field boundaries and to search for variables that drive species composition at the local scale. The results revealed that both species diversity and composition differed significantly between the inner and outer boundary along the crop edges and at the field margins. Local site conditions, namely a moisture gradient, influenced the species composition of the field margins, resulting in differences between the inner and outer field margins. Mitigated through crop growth and cover, the moisture gradient influenced also the species composition of the inner and outer crop edges, despite the management practices on the fields were the same.

Enhancing Irrigation Management: Unsupervised Machine Learning coupled with Geophysical and Multispectral Data for Informed Decision-Making in Rice Production

Integrating diverse data sources for site-specific management zones (SSMZ) in precision agriculture is a complex task. Soil surveys using apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) have proven effective in capturing field variability. However, relying solely on one sensing data type may not fully capture the intricate relationship between soil properties and crop physiological processes. This research assessed the effectiveness of applying multivariate geostatistical analysis and unsupervised machine learning (UML) to geophysical and multispectral data through ECa, NDWI and NDVI indices, for delineating and validating the SSMZ at different crop cycles in five rice field of Tolima department-Colombia. Lee´s correlation was conducted between ECa, NDWI and NDVI data. MULTISPATI-PCA was used to assess the autocorrelation in the input variables before SSMZ delineation. The correlation results revealed two field categories based on the direct or indirect relationship between ECa and the multispectral data. On one hand, ECa values showed an inverse correlation (p<0.01) with multispectral data (-0.25 to -0.45) for fields 1a, 1b and 4a. On the other hand, there was a direct correlation (p<0.01) between ECa and multispectral data (0.31 to 0.51) for fields 2b and 5a. For all rice fields, MULTISPATI-PCA explained a range between 75.01 % to 95.64 % of the total variability. UML results highlighted two, three and four SSMZ, with two SSMZ being the optimal management zones number. The validation suggests that the θ data showed a significant statistical difference for two SSMZs (p < 0.05), regardless of the water content ranges. This study emphasized the importance of integrating geophysical and multispectral datasets in precision agriculture for evaluating field variability and crop conditions.