Crop Production Research Articles

РОЛЬ ТРАВОПОЛЬНОГО СЕВООБОРОТА В ПРЕДГОРЬЯХ РЕСПУБЛИКИ СЕВЕРНАЯ ОСЕТИЯ – АЛАНИЯ

The purpose of the study is to identify the effect of grass crop rotation crops on the physical, agrobiological parameters of soils and on crop productivity in the forest-steppe zone of North Ossetia – Alania. Objectives: to study the structural and aggregate composition of the soil; to determine the volumetric mass of soil under crop rotation crops; to identify the general biological activity of the soil, the effect of crop rotation on their productivity. The object of the study is grass crop rotation cultures. The studies were conducted in 2020–2022 in the field stationary crop rotation of the SKNIIGPSH VSC RAS in the conditions of the forest-steppe zone of the Russian North Ossetia – A. The soil of the experimental plot is represented by leached chernozems on pebbles, where humus ranges from 3.4 to 4.7 %. The experiments were carried out in triplicate. The area of the experimental plots is 100 m2, and the registration plot is 96 m2. It was established that at the beginning of the growing season, the blocky fraction under rotation crops varied from 13.50 to 50.10 %, and soil lumps from 0.25 to 10 mm (macrostructure) – from 49.40 to 82.60 %, fraction < 0 .25mm – from 1.80 to 8.0 %. The structure coefficient varied from 2.22 % (corn) to 2.49 % (oats + clover). Research has proven that leached chernozems contain from 45.0 to 66.5 % of aggregates that resist the erosive action of water, due to which these soils have a good structure. Over the years of research on oats + clover crops (on average 0–30 cm soil layer), the soil density was 0.95 g/cm3 at the beginning of the growing season, 1.19 g/cm3 during the period of intensive growth, 1.22 g/cm3 – at the end of the growing season. This trend is evident in all crop rotations. In our research on the collection of feed units, the grass link of the crop rotation was highlighted, where the total indicator was 15.05 t/ha, and in the row crop link of the crop rotation – 13.12 t/ha. The highest indicators of metabolic energy in the grass section of the crop rotation were obtained for winter wheat and amounted to 4.76 GJ/ha, and in the row crop link for grain corn – 8.13 GJ/ha.

Impact of Manures, Fertilizers, and Rice Straw Allelopathy on T. aman Rice Yield

Nowadays, adopting agricultural practices that are sustainable and eco-friendly for crop production is a major concern. The present experiment was conducted at the AFLAB of BAU from June 2022 to November 2022 to estimate the combined effect of manures and fertilizers with rice straw allelopathy on the yield performance of transplant aman rice. The experiment consisted of two cultivars i.e.: BRRI dhan71 (V1) and BRRI dhan49 (V2) and eight treatments of the combination of rice straw, manures, and fertilizers such as Control (T1), Recommended doses of NPKS (T2), Rice straw @ 1.5 t ha-1 + Cow dung @ 5 t ha-1 (T3), Rice straw @ 1.5 t ha-1 + Cow dung @ 2.5 t ha-1 + 50% less of recommended doses of NPKS (T4 ), Rice straw @ 1.5 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 (T5) , Rice straw @ 1.5 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha-1 + 50% less of recommended doses of NPKS (T6), Rice straw @ 1.5 t ha-1 + Trichocompost @ 10 t ha-1 (T7), Rice straw @ 1.5 t ha-1 + Trichocompost @ 5 t ha-1 + 50% less of recommended doses of NPKS (T8). The grain yield as well as the yield contributing characters such as the number of effective tillers hill-1, number of grains panicle-1, 1000-grain weight was highest at BRRI dhan71 with Rice straw @ 1.5 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha-1 + 50% less of recommended doses of NPKS (T6) treatment, followed by Rice straw @ 1.5 t ha-1 + Trichocompost @ 10 t ha-1 (T7) treatment. BRRI dhan71 expressed superiority at yield and all the yield contributing characters than BRRI dhan49. This current study's results indicate that combining rice straw with manures and fertilizer could enhance the yield of transplant aman rice. As a result, mixing rice straws with manures and fertilizers could be a viable bundle of sustainable and eco-friendly ways for increasing crop productivity in the future.

Multi-trait selection in yellow kernel maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes using multi-trait genotype-ideotype distance index

The production of food crops is greatly influenced by maize, which is essential to global food security. Genetic variation and selection are key components in maize breeding that maximize genetic gain and productivity. The present study, 238 maize genotypes were investigated for fourteen quantitative traits to identify diverse and desirable genotypes for future breeding and varietal development programs. Significant genotypic effects were observed for grain yield and its attributes and other agronomic traits, indicating potential for genotype selection. Multivariate PCA analysis revealed that the first four PCs (70.1 % of total variation) effectively captured the considerable diversity within traits. Key traits such as flowering time, plant height, ear height, ear characteristics, and grain yield were essential in distinguishing between the genotypes analyzed. A recently introduced multi-trait-ideotype distance index (MGIDI) was used to predict the selection gain and identify the effectively performed genotypes by considering multiple traits. The MGIDI predicts significant desired genetic gains across all characteristics. Strengths and weaknesses of selected genotypes based on MGIDI provided insights into their overall suitability and factor contributions. The genotypes G32, G76, G163, G212, and G169 were identified as performing better using the MGIDI method, considering their strengths and weaknesses for the traits analyzed. MGIDI is a powerful tool that can help breeders effectively select the most desirable genotypes in maize.

ПРОДУКТИВНОСТЬ ПАРОЗАНИМАЮЩИХ КУЛЬТУР И РОЛЬ ПАРОВ В ЗАСУШЛИВЫХ УСЛОВИЯХ СТЕПНОЙ ЗОНЫ ЮЖНОГО УРАЛА

The purpose of the study is to establish the influence of meteorological factors, the content of productive moisture and macroelements in the soil on the productivity of fallow crops in a system of six-field crop rotations on two agricultural backgrounds in the conditions of the steppe zone of the Southern Urals. Long-term studies were carried out from 1993 to 2022 in the Orenburg Region. Location coordinates of the stationary experiment site are: 51.775125 latitude and 55.306547° v.d. Sudanese grass of summer sowing, peas and oats were used as fallow crops. The objects of study (Sudan grass and pea-oat mixture) were cultivated on two agricultural backgrounds: fertilized with N40P80K40 and without the use of mineral fertilezers. The content of macroelements in the soil was determined by the ionometric method according to Tyurin (N-NO3), according to Machigin (mobile phosphorus), according to Maslova (exchangeable potassium). The green mass of fallow crops was taken into account by cutting 1 m2 from the plots. The value of indicators of air temperature and precipitation as a whole for the 30-year period of research (in years of different humidification) and in very dry years (HTC according to Selyaninov < 0.4 units) is considered. As a result of research, it was established that the growing season of very dry years was warmer by 6.4 ± 8.7 % with an average air temperature of 20.4 ± 1.7 °C. In the spring, the content of productive moisture in the fallow field variants was 44.7–46.4 mm in the 0–30 layer, 145.0–152.8 mm in the meter layer, and 213.0–225.9 mm in the one-and-a-half-meter layer. In the occupied soil-protective fallow, by autumn there is an increase in nitrate nitrogen (on average for 1993–2022) on an unfertilized background by 65.7 % (+4.4 mg), on a fertilized background by 24.1 % (+2.1 mg). In the green manure fallow, there is a slight (+0.7 mg) increase in the N-NO3 content by autumn and amounted to 10.1 %. The average yield of green mass of Sudanese grass over the years of research was 15.15 t/ha on a fertilized background, and 13.85 t/ha on an unfertilized background. Our experience revealed a high (r = 0.76) relationship between the yield of green mass of Sudanese grass on two backgrounds of soil nutrition with the productive moisture content of a one-and-a-half-meter layer of soil in conjunction with the amount of precipitation in two summer months (July and August).

Sowing seeds for the future: Future time perspective and climate adaptation among farmers.

A future time perspective is critical to domains where outcomes of choices are delayed and potentially catastrophic: such as with agriculture where management decisions today are critical to the viability of multiple outcomes in the future. Farmers are on the front lines of climate change where shifts in rainfall and temperature threaten the viability of crop production. This reality is compounded for some farmers who lack the resources needed to adapt. Prior work has shown that farmers with strong injunctive norms towards conservation, and sufficient resources, are more likely to implement adaptation practices, but little research has explored the role of future time perspectives relative to these factors. We test whether future time perspective may lead US Midwestern farmers to develop injunctive norms towards conservation, and in turn, implement adaptation practices. We find support for this mechanism through both a correlational analysis (Study 1), and a manipulation of the salience of future impacts through a vignette experiment (Study 2). In addition, we see that some socioeconomic resources constrain adaptation. These results are relevant to regions where greater adaptation practices are needed to protect against climate impacts on operations that produce row crops like corn, soy and wheat.

Enhancing multi-season wheat yield through plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria using consortium and individual isolate applications.

In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in harnessing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as a possible mechanism to mitigate the environmental impact of conventional agricultural practices and promote sustainable agricultural production. This study investigated the transferability of promising PGPR research from maize to another Poaceae cereal crop, wheat. This multi-seasonal study evaluated the wheat grain yield effect of Lysinibacillus sphaericus (T19), Paenibacillus alvei (T29) when applied i. individually, ii. as a consortium with Bacillus safensis (S7), and iii. at a 75% reduced fertilizer rate. Whole genome sequencing allowed annotation of genes linked to plant growth promotion, providing potential genomic explanations for the observed in-field findings. Application of the consortium compared to a commercial PGPR showed significantly increased wheat yield by 30.71%, and 25.03%, respectively, in season one, and 63.92% and 58.45%, respectively, under reduced fertilizer rates in season two. Individual application of T19 and T29 showed varying results, with T19 increasing wheat yield by 9.33% and 16.22% during seasons three and four but a substantial reduction (33.39%) during season five. T29 exhibited yield increases during season three (9.31%) and five (5.61%) but led to a significant reduction (21.15%) in season four. Genomic analysis unveiled a spectrum of plant growth-promoting genes including those associated with ammonification, phosphate solubilization, ethylene, siderophore, catalase, and superoxide dismutase production. These findings offer valuable insights into the mechanisms behind observed field results, with potential implications for advancing sustainable agriculture and crop productivity in evolving agricultural landscapes.

Root and Leaf Traits of Alfalfa Exhibit Distinct Responses to Soil Microbial Communities and Environmental Stresses

ABSTRACTOngoing climate change is negatively impacting crop productivity globally. Past research has highlighted that a diverse soil microbial community and variation in plant traits for resource acquisition can mitigate the negative impacts of climate change factors on crop productivity. This study investigates the effects of two major environmental stressors—drought and salinity stress, on plant productivity, biomass allocation, and root and leaf trait responses under distinct soil microbial diversities. Our results showed that salinity stress had stronger negative impacts on plant productivity than drought stress. Shoot biomass decreased by 30% and 32.5% under drought and salinity stress, respectively, whereas the root biomass decreased by 32% only under salinity stress. Soil microbial diversity did not affect plant productivity. Next, root traits were mainly impacted by drought and salinity stress, whereas leaf traits were impacted by both environmental stresses and soil microbial diversity. Specific root length and specific root area decreased under drought, and root tissue density was minimal under salinity stress. Root traits were not affected by soil microbial communities. In contrast, the leaf nitrogen content increased, whereas pheophytin content (a breakdown product of chlorophyll) decreased when plants were grown in diverse microbial communities under environmental stresses, especially drought. These results highlight the importance of soil microbial diversity in impacting plant traits in response to environmental stresses. We showed that the soil microbial diversity influences both aboveground and belowground plant traits, indicating the need for better management practices to conserve and promote soil microbial diversity.

Effect of Enriched Coconut Shell Biochar on Soil Properties and Soybean (Glycine max L.) Yield in Acidic Soils of Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka, India

A two-season field study was conducted at ICAR-KVK, Hadonahalli, which is located in the Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka, to evaluate the influence of phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and zinc-enriched coconut shell biochar on soil biological properties, nutrient bioavailability and soybean (Glycine max L.) yield in acidic soils. 13 treatments, including a control, package of practice and various combinations of PSB and zinc-enriched biochar were assessed in randomised complete block design at P=0.05 level of significance. The biochar was characterized for its physical properties, including bulk density (0.38 Mg m-3), water holding capacity (76.27%) and chemical properties including pH (9.52), electrical conductivity (1.12 dS m-1) and nutrient composition. Results indicated significant improvements in soil dehydrogenase activity, phosphatase activity and major nutrient bioavailability (N, P, K and Zn) in treatments receiving 100% NPK, PSB enriched FYM at 3.125 t ha-1 and different doses of zinc enriched Biochar at 5 t ha-1 compared to the control and package of practice. Soybean yield was maximized under treatments combining PSB-enriched FYM and zinc-enriched biochar, with the highest yield observed in T6 (23.61 q ha-1). The enhanced yield was attributed to improved soil health and nutrient dynamics by PSB and biochar. These findings underscore the potential of PSB and zinc-enriched biochar as sustainable amendments for enhancing soil fertility, crop productivity, and nutrient use efficiency in acidic soils.

Effects of diffuse radiation fraction on crop light absorption, light use efficiency and gross primary production on an instantaneous scale in South China.

The fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), light use efficiency (LUE), and gross primary productivity (GPP) are the key driving factors of crop production and ecological models. Diffuse radiation fraction (DF) has been reported to profoundly affect FAPAR, LUE and GPP, and its impact on a short time scale needs to be emphasized. Based on the field observations at noon local time during 2021-2022 and the Two-Leaf light use efficiency model, this study investigated the magnitudes of the DF effect on the canopy FAPAR, LUE, and GPP for the three different crops (peanut, soybean and corn) on an instantaneous scale in South China. Different from that of peanut and soybean, the FAPAR of corn increased linearly with the rise of DF. The instantaneous LUE of each crop was highly sensitive to DF, and its linear regression slope was greater than 1.0g C MJ- 1. On average, the DF accounted for around 69-74% of the variations in the instantaneous LUE and 59-64% of the variations in the instantaneous GPP over the entire observation period. The sky conditions with a DF value between 0.45 and 0.66 were favorable for the carbon fixation of the three crops. The linear coupling strength between GPP and PAR under diffuse radiation (DF ≥ 0.5) was stronger than that under direct radiation (DF < 0.5). The results will be helpful in accurate estimating of FAPAR, LUE, GPP and even crop production in both South China and other similar regions.

Weed Management Indices and Their Relevance in Weed Science Research

Weeds are one of the most important biotic factors that cause significant loss in crop productivity. Of the total loss caused by various pests in agriculture, weeds account for 37% followed by insects 29%, diseases 22% and others 12 %. Weed competes with crops for various resources, resulting in severe yield loss, although it largely depends on the management strategies adopted. For the effective management of weeds, various management strategies are adopted viz; cultural, mechanical, chemical and biological. All these approaches are used based on their performance. Henceforth, it is imperative to evaluate the efficacy of suitable management strategies. To evaluate the performance many weed indices are being used. Understanding of these indices is still vital. Weed indices provide a standardized way to quantify the impact of weed presence on crop yield. Allowing researchers to directly compare different weed management approaches, assess their effectiveness, and identify the most efficient methods for managing weeds in a given agricultural setting.

Sublethal effects of flonicamid on the population growth of the grain aphid Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) (Hemiptera: Aphididae).

Rhopalosiphum padi is an important grain pest, causing severe losses during crop production. As a systemic insecticide, flonicamid can control piercing-sucking pests efficiently. In our study, the lethal effects of flonicamid on the biological traits of R. padi were investigated via a life table approach. Flonicamid is highly efficiently toxic to R. padi, with an LC50 of 9.068 mg L-1. The adult longevity and fecundity of the R. padi F0 generation were markedly reduced under the LC25 and LC50 concentrations of flonicamid exposure. In addition, negative transgenerational effects on R. padi were observed under exposure to lethal concentrations of flonicamid, with noticeable decreases in the reproductive period, adult longevity, total longevity, and total fecundity of the F1 generation under the LC25 concentration of flonicamid. Furthermore, the third nymph stage (N3), preadult stage, duration of the adult pre-reproductive period, duration of the total pre-reproductive period, reproductive period, adult longevity, total longevity, and total fecundity of the F1 generation were significantly lower under treatment with the LC50 concentration of flonicamid. The life table parameters were subsequently analysed, revealing that the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and the net reproductive rate (R0) were significantly lower but that the finite rate of increase (λ) and the mean generation time (T) were not significantly different under the LC25 and LC50 concentrations of flonicamid. These data are beneficial for grain aphid control and are critical for exploring the role of flonicamid in the integrated management of this key pest.

Inorganic-microbial organic fertilizer synergy: improving quinoa yield and seed quality through soil and nutrient modulation

ABSTRACT Heavy reliance on chemical fertilizer (CF) for achieving high yield in crops causes serious problems on the environment, development of pest resistance and deterioration of food safety. To resolve this, the co-application of organic fertilizer (OF) to reduce the amount of CF is considered as an effective fertilizer management to sustain agricultural crop production. Most studies, however, have focused on the effect of substitution of CF with OF or biofertilizer on crop production but little information on the effect of substitution of CF with microbial organic fertilizer (MOF) on the seed yield and quality especially in quinoa. Thus, field experiments were conducted to determine the effect of rates of substitution of CF by MOF on soil fertility, nutrient uptake, grain yield and quality in quinoa. Five treatments in two cropping season experiments in 2023 and laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. These treatments were 100% chemical fertilizer application (CF100), 100% microbial organic fertilizer application (MOF100), 75% chemical fertilizer + 25% microbial organic fertilizer (CF75 + MOF25), 50% chemical fertilizer + 50% microbial organic fertilizer (CF50 + MOF50), and 25% chemical fertilizer + 75% microbial organic fertilizer (CF25 + MOF75). The results showed that the increase in the rates of substitution of CF with MOF increased soil pH and soil organic matter content (SOM) compared to CF100, while soil mineral N, available P, exchangeable K were highest at CF50 + MOF50 in both seasons. The substitution of CF with MOF at 25 and 50% enhanced nutrient uptake, promoted growth, and subsequently, increased yield and improved grain quality in quinoa. Overall, the results implied that substitution of CF by MOF at 50% was optimal for sustainable quinoa production.

Performance of Rice-Wheat Cropping System under Different Production Systems in Irrigated Subtropics of Jammu

The present study was conducted during 2022-23 and 2023-24 at the Research Farm, FSR Centre, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Main Campus Chatha. The experimental site is located at a latitude of 32°40′ N, longitude of 74°58′ E, and an altitude of 332 m above mean sea level. The region experiences an annual rainfall of 1050-1115 mm, with 70% occurring between June and September. The study evaluated the performance of a rice-wheat cropping system under four production systems: P1 (Absolute control), P2 (Organic farming), P3 (Conventional farming), and P4 (Natural farming). Results revealed that conventional farming consistently achieved significantly higher productivity in both crops. For rice, conventional farming recorded the highest grain yield (28.49 q/ha) and straw yield (55.06 q/ha), outperforming organic farming (25.53 q/ha and 53.45 q/ha) and natural farming (24.67 q/ha and 51.46 q/ha). Similarly, for wheat, conventional farming resulted in the highest grain yield (39.98 q/ha) and straw yield (53.32 q/ha), compared to organic farming (35.52 q/ha and 50.13 q/ha) and natural farming (30.87 q/ha and 48.09 q/ha). A slight improvement in grain and straw yields was observed during the second year across all production systems, except the absolute control. The findings demonstrate the superior performance of conventional farming for maximizing crop productivity in the irrigated subtropical conditions of Jammu while highlighting the potential for further optimization of organic and natural farming systems for sustainable agriculture.

ECP-IEM: Enhancing seasonal crop productivity with deep integrated models.

Accurate crop yield forecasting is vital for ensuring food security and making informed decisions. With the increasing population and global warming, addressing food security has become a priority, so accurate yield forecasting is very important. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has increased the yield accuracy significantly. The existing Machine Learning (ML) methods are using statistical measures as regression, correlation and chi square test for predicting crop yield, all such model's leads to low accuracy when the number of factors (variables) such as the weather and soil conditions, the wind, fertilizer quantity, and the seed quality and climate are increased. The proposed methodology consists of different stages, like Data Collection, Preprocessing, Feature Extraction with Support Vector Machine (SVM), correlation with Normalized Google Distance (NGD), feature ranking with rising star. This study combines Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit (Bi-GRU) and Time Series CNN to predict crop yield and then recommendation for further improvement. The proposed model showed very good results in all datasets and showed significant improvement compared to baseline models. The ECP-IEM achieved an accuracy 96.34%, precision 94.56% and recall 95.23% on different datasets. Moreover, the proposed model was also evaluated based on MAE, MSE, and RMSE, which produced values of 0.191, 0.0674, and 0.238, respectively. This will help in improving production of crops by giving an early look about the yield of crops which will than help the farmer in improving the crops yield.

Trends of climate variability and its association with farmers’ perceptions of climate change in Gassera district, southeastern Ethiopia

Climate change and variability have threatened rain-fed subsistence agriculture by affecting the livelihoods of rural communities in Ethiopia. The Gassera district is among the high-potential crop production areas and is severely affected by recurrent drought resulting from climate change. This study examined trends in climatic variability, farmers’ perceptions, and the determinants of climate change in the Gassera district, southeastern Ethiopia. A cross-sectional survey design was employed to select agroecologies and collect data from 444 farm households via multistage random sampling. Linear regression, the chi-square test, and rainfall anomalies were used for the data analysis. The results revealed significant (Ρ = 0.00) increasing trends in annual temperature, a decrease in annual rainfall of 2.92 mm/year, and severe rainfall variability for the Belg season. Most of the interviewed farmers reported increases in temperature, erratic rainfall, and drought frequency of 96.24%, 86.47%, and 89.73%, respectively. The study concludes that climate change variability is described by long-term average increases in temperature, erratic rainfall, and the occurrence of drought. This research also concluded that farmers’ perceptions matched well with records of increases in temperature, erratic rainfall, and drought frequency. The results also revealed gender, education, and agroecological settings were the determinant factors related to farmers’ perceptions of climate variability.

Dynamic Modeling of Soil Water Dynamics and Nitrogen Species Transport with Multi-Crop Rotations Under Variable-Saturated Conditions

Excessive application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in agriculture poses significant environmental risks, notably nitrate leaching into groundwater. This study evaluates soil water dynamics and the transport of urea, ammonium, and nitrate under variable-saturated conditions in a long-term experimental field in Croatia, Europe. Utilizing HYDRUS-1D and HYDRUS-2D models, we simulated water flow and nitrogen transformation and transport across six lysimeter-monitored locations over four years (2019–2023), incorporating diverse crop rotations and N addition. Key modeled processes included nitrification, urea hydrolysis, and nitrate leaching, integrating field-measured parameters and climatic conditions. The models achieved high reliability, with R2 values for water flow ranging from 0.58 to 0.97 and for nitrate transport from 0.13 to 0.97; however, some cases reported lower reliability. Results revealed that nitrate leaching was influenced by precipitation patterns, soil moisture, crop growth stages, and fertilization timing. Peak nitrate losses were observed during early crop growth and post-harvest periods when elevated soil moisture and reduced plant uptake coincided. The findings highlight the importance of optimizing nitrogen application strategies to balance crop productivity and environmental protection. This research demonstrates the effectiveness of numerical modeling as a tool for sustainable nitrogen management and groundwater quality preservation in agricultural systems. It also indicates the need for further development by capturing some of the processes such as identification in the N cycle.

Melampsora larici-populina homologous effectors Mlp72983 and Mlp52166 display cell-type specific accumulation in Arabidopsis and Populus

Plants interact with microorganisms that can cause diseases and reduce crop productivity. The fungal pathogen Melampsora larici-populina (Mlp) causes the leaf rust disease of poplar trees by secreting proteins, termed effectors, into host tissues to promote pathogenesis. In this study, we functionally characterized two homologous Mlp candidate secreted effector proteins (CSEPs), Mlp72983 and Mlp52166. Confocal microscopy experiments revealed that Mlp72983 has cell type-specific differential localization. It accumulates in the guard cells’ chloroplast of the epidermis and in the nucleus of the spongy mesophyll of Arabidopsis thaliana and Populus alba x Populus tremula. Mlp52166 has a nucleocytosolic accumulation in the epidermal layer and has nuclear localization in the mesophyll layer of the two species. Transcriptomic experiments showed that Mlp72983 and Mlp52166 deregulate plant genes, when constitutively expressed in either Arabidopsis or poplar. The two CSEPs deregulate genes that encode histones, hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases and multidrug and toxic compound extrusion proteins, with roles in DNA repair, methylation, and xenobiotic detoxification. Inoculation assays showed that CSEPs overexpression in poplar transgenics did not enhance susceptibility to rust infection. Despite being closely related in sequence identity, Mlp72983 and Mlp52166 have cell-type specific subcellular localization and deregulate mostly unique sets of plant genes.

Laboratory Rearing of Herbivore Larva of Spodoptera Frugiperda (Order: Lepidoptera) to Assess Yield Loss of Economically Important Crops

Lepidopteran larvae are one of the most destructive pests in agricultural ecosystems. To assess the yield loss caused by lepidopteran larvae, Spodoptera frugiperda was reared in the laboratory and daily food consumption, total feed intake, pupal weight and percentage of pupal emergence were calculated. The larvae of S. frugiperda were provided with maize and brinjal as a diet. Per day food consumption was calculated by subtracting remaining food and evaporative loss from total provided food. The entire experiment was conducted at 25°C ± 5°C temperature, 60 ± 5 relative humidity and 16: 8 light and dark period. Larvae of S. frugiperda consumed 16.1 ± 2.50 g of maize and 8.85 ± 1.73g of brinjal. 0.61 ± 0.01g was maximum pupal weight of S. frugiperda on maize while on brinjal pupal weight was 0.32 ±0.03g. Food consumption by each instar was also calculated. The 6th instar stage was most damage causing stage. The rate of adult emergence was highest in maize (89%). Adults of S. frugiperda attained longevity of 14 days on maize and 9 days on brinjal. This life table study could be valuable in assessing the damage caused by the disastrous lepidopteran pest. The results could help to formulate pest management strategies for sustainable crop production.

Mismanagement amid resource abundance: Sovereign risk, private sector credit rationing, and economic stagnation in Colombia, 1861‒98

AbstractThis article examines the relationship between national politics, sovereign default, credit rationing, and their effects on fiscal revenues and exports in nineteenth‐century Colombia. Using quantitative and qualitative analysis, it challenges existing narratives on Colombia's lack of sustained nineteenth‐century export‐led development, showing that sovereign default was a political choice with long‐term negative impacts. The study highlights how credit rationing and technological backwardness hindered economic growth. It argues that these policies caused Colombia's economic stagnation, leading to boom‐and‐bust cycles in export crop production. It identifies substantial growth during the liberal era and minimal growth during the regeneración period.

Effects of Hydrochar Incorporation on the Nitrogen Leaching Flux Pattern and Load in Rice Paddy Soil and Crop Production

Hydrochar (HC) incorporation affects soil nitrogen (N) transformation, which could further affect the N leaching loss. We conducted a soil lysimeter experiment to evaluate the responses in terms of N leaching and rice yield to HC applied at a low (0.5%) or high (1.5%) rate, while considering three N inputs, i.e., 240, 192, and 144 kg/ha (named N240, N192, and N144, respectively). The results showed that the rice grain yield was highest (124.3 g/pot) for N192, while being significantly reduced to the minimum yield achieved in the study (110.3 g/pot) for N144. Interestingly, for the N input 144 kg/ha, HC application increased the rice grain yield by 6.9–8.0%, which was equivalent to that of N240. NH4+-N leaching occurred mainly during the first 4 weeks of the rice season, and HC did not influence NH4+-N leaching for both the N inputs, 192 and 240 kg/ha. However, compared to N144, N144 + HC1.5% recorded a significantly higher NH4+-N leaching loss of 34.6%. This suggests that the application of a high amount of HC increases the NH4+-N leaching risk when the N input is low. HC application resulted in 10.2–45.3% more NO3−-N leaching loss when the three N inputs were applied, the effect of which was significant in regard to the applications involving a 20 and 40% N reduction, but this occurred only with the applied treatments involving 1.5% HC. Moreover, we found that organic N was the main form of leachate N (&gt;80%). More specifically, N144 + HC recorded 7.8–8.3% lower organic N leaching than N192. Based on the effects of HC on the rice grain yield and N leaching, we recommend applications involving a 40% N reduction (N144) with a lower amount of HC (HC 0.5%) to ensure high crop production and to protect the water environment.