Agricultural Inputs Research Articles

Assessing Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity in Latin America

ABSTRACTThe agricultural sector in Latin America plays a vital role in ensuring food security while impacting the environment. However, there remains a lack of analysis regarding the inputs responsible for pollution within its sub‐technologies. Hence, this article aims to assess agricultural green total factor productivity (TFP) through a novel decomposition of the Luenberger–Hicks–Moorsteen (LHM) indicator. Utilizing panel data from 23 Latin American countries covering the period from 2000 to 2019, our study reveals that green TFP has achieved a consistent annual growth rate of 0.71%. Specifically, technical efficiency change (TEC) accounts for 0.26% of the TFP, with the technical change component (TP) and scale efficiency change (SEC) contributing 0.74% and 0.30%, respectively. These findings suggest that Latin American countries have increasingly utilized agricultural inputs more efficiently over time. The results provide valuable insights for developing innovative measures and effective policy strategies to promote sustainability in the agricultural sector.

Diagnosis of Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br (L.)] Cultivation Practices in Côte d’Ivoire and Study of the Morphological Diversity of Millet Ears Found in Cultivation Areas

The lack of improved varieties and the decline in millet cultivation in certain regions have led to genetic erosion and a drop in production. This study was conducted to examine various aspects of millet production, highlighting the social, cultural, and agronomic dynamics that influence this crop, and then to characterize the millet ears present in production areas. The results reveal a high prevalence of millet cultivation by men (88%) than women (12%), despite an earlier tradition in which it was mainly associated to women. There is great ethnic diversity among farmers, with agricultural practices and crop preferences varying from one ethnic group to another. The use of agricultural inputs, mainly mineral fertilizers (60%), is widespread, although differences in yields between genders, highlight disparities in farm management (1,420 kg/ha for men vs 745 kg/ha for women). Constraints such as pests, climatic conditions and soil quality are reported as major challenges for millet production. Analysis of the morphological diversity of millet ears revealed a high degree of morphological variability, with four distinct classes identified, pointing the potential for breeding adapted varieties.

Integrated Simulation of Groundwater Flow and Nitrate Transport in an Alluvial Aquifer Using MODFLOW and MT3D: Insights into Pollution Dynamics and Management Strategies

This study employs an integrated numerical modeling approach using MODFLOW and MT3D to simulate groundwater flow and nitrate transport in the alluvial aquifer of Hennaya plain. The groundwater flow model was calibrated and validated against observed hydraulic heads, showing excellent agreement in both steady-state and transient conditions, with a correlation coefficients (R2) of 0.99 and 0.987, respectively. Meticulous calibration yielded adjusted hydraulic conductivity values between 10−1 and 10−11 m/s, with effective porosity ranging from 0.03 to 0.34 and total porosity values varying from 0.29 to 0.38 across the aquifer. Water budget analysis revealed that the aquifer’s primary recharge occurs from the southern side. Nitrate transport modeling indicated that advection is the dominant process, with contaminants migration predominantly occurring from south to north, following the groundwater flow direction. Pollution levels were found to decrease gradually with distance from sources, confirming agricultural activities and sewage disposal as primary contributors to nitrate contamination. Predictive scenarios over a 40-year period explored various management strategies, which suggest that maintaining current nitrogen input rates will lead to continued increases in nitrate pollution, while a 50% reduction in agricultural inputs could significantly improve groundwater quality. However, even with substantial reductions, nitrate concentrations are not expected to reach levels safe for drinking within the simulation timeframe. This study underscores the need for immediate and sustained action to address nitrate pollution in the Hennaya Plain aquifer, emphasizing the importance of stringent nitrogen management practices, particularly in the agricultural sector.

Life Cycle Assessment of Microalgae-Based Products for Carbon Dioxide Utilization in Thailand: Biofertilizer, Fish Feed, and Biodiesel

Background Microalgae-based products offer a sustainable solution for food, fuel, and agricultural inputs, presenting environmental benefits and economic opportunities. A comprehensive assessment is needed to understand their potential in supporting sustainability goals, considering the complex interplay between production methods, energy sources, and environmental impacts. Methods This study evaluated the environmental impacts of three microalgae-derived products – biodiesel, fish feed, and biofertilizer – through a comprehensive life cycle assessment. Nine scenarios were explored comparing three electricity profiles (current Thai mix, 50% renewable/50% current mix hybrid, 100% renewable) across the three products. The assessment evaluated environmental impacts and potential economic benefits of transitioning to these microalgae-based alternatives. Results and discussion All products demonstrated potential for significant environmental benefits under increased renewable energy scenarios. Fish feed consistently exhibited the lowest environmental impacts across all categories examined, showing substantial improvements with increased renewable energy use. With an annual demand of 0.4 million tonnes, fish feed could generate USD 560 million in revenue and reduce CO2 emissions by 1.1 million tonnes. Fulfilling the projected biodiesel demand of 4,015 million liters per year through microalgae production could yield approximately USD 3.5 billion in revenue and reduce CO2 emissions by 30 million tonnes compared to conventional fossil-based diesel. Additionally, algal biofertilizer production could meet a 5 million tonnes annual demand, offering USD 2 billion in revenue while reducing CO2 emissions by 6 million tonnes yearly. Collectively, these products could offset 37 million tonnes of CO2, representing about 14% of Thailand’s total CO2 emissions, contributing significantly to the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target of 20-30% greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Conclusion Transitioning to microalgae-based products could transform the aquaculture, energy, and agricultural sectors, potentially supporting the national climate change mitigation goals, if implemented.

Nitrate toxicity and health hazards: Problems and mitigation challenges

Abstract Nitrogenous fertilizers are considered an essential input for productive agriculture and the factor highly responsible for higher biomass production. Unfortunately, intensive mineral fertilization brings tremendous changes in soil fertility and productivity, but productivity decreases rapidly in cereal-based cropping systems or without legumes. The excessive use of mineral nitrogenous fertilizers reported an increase in potential health hazards and environmental problems such as groundwater contamination, eutrophication, acid rain, the greenhouse effect, and methemoglobinemia in humans. With future applications’ elevated use and prognosis, this problem may expand to several folds in the approaching decades. Large consumption of defiled water or food with higher concentrations of nitrates (according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the permissible limit is 7 mg.kg −1 body weight per day) causes severe infant diseases such as Blue Baby Syndrome, respiratory ailments, gastric cancer, birth malformation and other health problems which earlier were rarely explained or explored worldwide. The unsustainable agronomic practices resulted in our soil being stripped of natural health and blind dependency on mineral fertilizers, ultimately leading to poor human and environmental health. There is an immediate need for new technologies related to farming systems to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in view of changing climate. Various sustainable practices such as applying organic manures, precision N management, Soil Test Crop Response (STCR) approach, and nitrogen (N) inhibitors hold tremendous potential to reduce the ill effects of nitrates and secure the food chain if adopted on a large scale.

Nanotechnology for sustainability of agriculture and environment: Green synthesis and application of nanoparticles – A review

Moreover, with the continuous population increase worldwide, there is more demand of food and other daily necessities, which require double agriculture production to provide adequate food for humanity from the same available natural resources. Therefore, looking for new techniques to combat various challenges is instantly needed to sustain crop production and provide enough food for humanity. The use of nano-technology in agriculture field represents an important tool for consistent production of agriculture crops and assists farmers with new practice management systems such as precision agriculture systems, the aim of which is to increase productivity and reduce expenses. Nanotechnology plays an important role in altering agriculture food production. The particles ranging from 1 to 100 nm are accounted as nanoparticles, which usually have high surface energy, big surface area and quantum quarantine. Most notably, nanoparticles increase crop yield by increasing the effectiveness of agricultural inputs to enable site-targeted, controlled nutrient delivery, assuring the least amounts of agro-inputs needed. Additionally, the main aim in agricultural production is to facilitate plants' faster adaptation to the increasingly severe climate change factors, such as high temperatures, low water availability, salinity, alkalinity and environmental pollution with heavy metals, without jeopardizing the delicate ecosystems that are currently in place. This review illustrates the effect of numerous nanoparticles on diverse plants of many concentrations, sizes and shapes. The molecular and genetic response to NPs, their method of action and their interactions with biomolecules should be the main areas of study in the future.

Decoupling agricultural resource inputs from agricultural economic development in China: a spatial–temporal analysis (2006–2021)

Decoupling agricultural resource inputs from agricultural economic development in China: a spatial–temporal analysis (2006–2021)

Unveiling the nutritional value and potentially toxic elements in fish species from Miliç Wetland, Türkiye: A probabilistic human health risk assessment using Monte Carlo simulation

This study evaluates the nutritional value and health risks of fish from Miliç Wetland, Türkiye, focusing on potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in Esox lucius, Squalius cephalus, and Carassius gibelio. Using ICP-MS, mean PTE concentrations were determined, including Zn (4979 μg/kg), Fe (4241 μg/kg), and As (125 μg/kg). Macro elements like K, P, and Ca were also assessed for nutritional profiling. A Monte Carlo-based risk assessment confirmed that PTE levels were below safety limits, indicating safe consumption. Chemometric techniques (PCA, PCC, HCA) helped trace contamination sources, identifying residential, agricultural, and lithogenic inputs. Esox lucius showed the highest essential nutrient levels. This research highlights the importance of combining chemometric analysis with regular monitoring for food safety and public health protection.

Impact Assessment and Yield Gap Analysis of Composite Fish Culture Technology in North East Region with Special Reference to Arunachal Pradesh, India

The North Eastern States (NES) are the easternmost region of India among them Arunachal Pradesh is a largest hill state and shares its international boundaries with Bhutan in the west, China in the north and Myanmar in the east with a wide range of climates and altitudes. Fish farming is playing a vital role from economic, nutritional and employment point of view in the state, in spite of increase in the production, the current level of fish production is not sufficient to fulfil the requirement, very much far-away to meet out the present consumption demand. Therefore, to identify the yield gap and adoption gap of improved production practice of composite fish culture technology the present study was conducted in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. It has been observed that the yields obtained by the farmers are well below those obtained in Govt. Farms and OFT/FLD trials. Carp cultivation practices of 171 farmers were examined on the basis of multistage random sampling. The sample was collected from all the administrative circle of the district West Kameng of Arunachal Pradesh NER India. The average production obtained by the respondents were found only 1.09 t/ha annually, but the range was 2.0 to 2.4-2.8 t/ha in the trials of Govt. farms and OFT/FLDs. The difference of 1.31t/h constituted yield gap under normal practices, these differences were observed due to critical fish farming input availability lacuna on time, the extent to which the farmers adopted the recommended practices, and other socio-economic factors. The study thus clearly showed that the gap is due to the deficiency in adopting the technology along with timely un-availability of quality fish seed and feed which may be bridged only by promotion of the region specific tailored suitable technology of fish farming along with assurance for availability of critical inputs on time.

Assessing subsidy integration in the 40 years of agricultural planning in the Maldives

87% of agricultural subsidies are harmful to the environment and human health while contributing little to food security. The first step to addressing harmful subsidies is to identify and trace them in policies. Small Island Developing States (SIDS), such as the Maldives, are the most vulnerable to environmental degradation caused by activities they contribute minimally. In the case of subsidies, the relative contribution to the environmental degradation by islands and the relative impacts of subsidies on islands are not studied, leaving a void in the global knowledge pool. This paper addresses the first step of this gap by identifying and assessing the historical trends of subsidy integration in Maldivian agricultural policy by analyzing their temporal distribution patterns and the quality of subsidy inclusion in national plans in the past four decades. The framework adopted for this study is a multi-criteria scoring protocol and a classification of 15 subsidy types to deliver a quantitative overview of the status and trends in subsidy in the agriculture sector of the Maldives. The results showed that although the scale of agriculture in the country is limited, subsidies have consistently been an integral part of agricultural planning since 1985, with agricultural inputs being one of the most frequently and highly subsidized over the years. Twelve different subsidy types were traced in the ten assessed national plans, and eleven subsidy types were identified in the plan from 2019 to 2023. These results serve as a baseline for the understanding of subsidies in the Maldives by providing a narrative of an island state for the global overview of subsidies and for comparative studies thereof.

Menvironmental impacts of crop production systems in subtropical plateau regions: case study of Yunnan, China

Excessive fertilisation, improper nutrient management, and specific climatic factors are the main reasons for the high environmental risks associated with agricultural production in subtropical plateau regions. However, quantitative data of environmental impacts and emission reduction potential remain unclear. The development potential of such systems is likely to be significant. In that context, we conducted a case study in Yunnan Province, China, to quantify the environmental impact of crop production from 2002 to 2021. A life cycle assessment method was employed to identify the factors driving environmental impacts, and potential mitigation strategies were proposed. The yield and total nutrient input of grain crops in Yunnan Province increased over the 20-year period, and the environmental footprint of crop production in Yunnan Province was higher than that in other regions. The average annual mean greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil acidification potential (AP), and water eutrophication potential (EP) of crop production from 2002 to 2021 were 837 kg CO2-eq·Mg−1, 15.7 kg SO2-eq·Mg−1, and 2.71 kg PO4-eq Mg−1, respectively. Environmental emissions from crops mainly originate from the application of agricultural inputs (including fertilisers (N, P, and K), pesticides, seed, diesel fuels, and plastic film) during the crop life cycle. There was a significant correlation between surplus nitrogen and environmental impacts. Scenario testing showed that optimised nutrient management practices could increase crop yield and reduce environmental costs. GHG emissions, AP, and EP from the production of rice, wheat, and maize are expected to decrease by 43.0–59.5%, 51.5–64.5%, and 57.4–71.5%, respectively (scenario 4, S4). Based on these findings, we propose that com-prehensive agricultural management measures can reduce the negative impacts of crop production on the environment in subtropical plateau areas and help achieve sustainable agricultural development.

Study on the spatio-temporal coupling and drivers of agricultural carbon emission efficiency and food security

In light of global climate change and environmental challenges, reducing agricultural carbon emissions while maintaining food security has become a critical concern for sustainable agricultural development. This study examines 13 provinces in primary grain-producing regions, utilising data from 1999 to 2022 to analyse the spatio-temporal heterogeneity and driving factors of the coupled and coordinated development of agricultural carbon emission efficiency and food security. The findings indicate that: 1) The proportion of carbon emissions from agricultural inputs in primary grain-producing regions exceeds 80%, whereas the contribution of carbon sinks from rice, maise, and wheat surpasses 95%. Both agricultural carbon emissions and carbon sinks in the Yellow River Basin are significantly elevated; 2) The general trend of agricultural carbon emission efficiency and food security is increasing, spatially characterised by a pattern of high levels in the north and south, and low levels in the south and high levels in the north, respectively. The integration of the two systems is progressing positively, and the trailing form of food security has emerged as a developmental trend, with the degree of food security limiting the coordinated advancement of both. 3) The overall spatial disparity exhibits a declining tendency, with hypervariable density being the primary contributor to this spatial difference. The overall polarisation of the primary grain-producing regions has diminished. The level of heterogeneity in the Songhua River basin progressively intensifies; 4) Rural human capital and financial support for agriculture, urbanisation rate and soil erosion control, agricultural machinery power and soil erosion control are the main interaction factors. The economic status and rural human capital will facilitate the integrated and harmonious development of the two systems, while the agricultural disaster rate will impede this integrated and harmonious development. Ultimately, policy solutions are proposed to optimise agricultural inputs and raise their utilisation efficiency, adopt diversified regional development strategies, promote regional connection and coordinated development, and reinforce the management of drivers and policy support.

The Impact of Typhoons on Agricultural Productivity—Evidence from Coastal Regions of China

The impact of natural disasters on agricultural production has garnered global attention. This study takes typhoons as an example, employing their movement paths to construct a difference-in-differences (DID) model and combining survey data from Rural Fixed Observation Spots to estimate changes in agricultural productivity from coastal regions of China, including Guangdong, Fujian, and Zhejiang provinces. This study finds that typhoons significantly deteriorate local agricultural productivity. Specifically, the planting income per mu and planting income per capita of rural households have decreased by 11% and 14%, respectively, while agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) has dropped by 3.7%. The decline in productivity can be attributed to two channels. Firstly, typhoons directly damage crops, leading to reduced total output. Secondly, in anticipation of typhoons, rural households increase asset input but reduce labor input and intermediate goods, resulting in the misallocation of agricultural inputs, which further diminishes productivity. The cost-benefit analysis indicates that to compensate for 20% of the negative impact of typhoons on agricultural productivity, local financial funds ranging from 3.4 million to 20 million yuan are required. Therefore, it is imperative for the Chinese government to strengthen the natural disaster warning system and improve farmland water conservancy infrastructure to mitigate the misallocation of agricultural inputs by rural households.

Investigating the Impact of Agricultural Credit on Wheat Farming: Evidence from Pakistan

Increasing food production is crucial for attaining the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG#2) by 2030 through supplying agricultural credit and improved inputs. Thus, the present study examined the roles of agricultural credit, applications of fertilizer, usage of pesticides, farming area, and agricultural employment in enhancing wheat production in the developing economy (Pakistan) from 1990 to 2020. This study applied the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) regression method for the empirical analysis. The empirical findings from the ARDL regression technique revealed that agricultural credit can significantly enhance wheat production, while improved inputs, including fertilizer and pesticide usage, also positively contribute to wheat production. Notably, agriculture credit plays a vital role in assisting farmers to purchase advanced farm inputs and indirectly increases the wheat yield. Consequently, this study suggests that the banking sector should supply agricultural credit to farmers under flexible lending conditions; therefore, farmers can easily access credit and adopt modern technologies to enhance food production and ensure food security.

UnravelingFarmers’Buying Process for Agricultural Inputs in Himachal Pradesh: Implication for Agricultural Marketing

The present study was carried out on farmers’ buying process towards agricultural inputs in the high hill temperate wet zone of Himachal Pradesh. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used for the selection of sampled households in the study area. The primary data were collected from a sample of 448 farmers who were the significant decision-makers in their households. It was examined that quality consciousness was high, especially for seeds (52.45 per cent), power sprayers (50.18 per cent) and agrochemicals (47.23 per cent). The buying decision times varied by input, averaging 3.06 and 60.58 days for seed and power tillers, which required more deliberation due to cost and complexity. Farmers used an average of 2-3 information sources for frequently purchased inputs, increasing to over 4 for infrequently purchased inputs. Statistical analysis showed that education, farming experience, and quality consciousness significantly influenced buying behaviour across various decision stages, including decision time and number of suppliers evaluated and critically shaped the buying process, particularly for high-investment inputs. The results of the study are helpful to policy formulators in the agriculture input sector, agribusiness firms, and researchers in consumer behaviour in designing marketing strategies based on changing market dynamics.

The role of agriculture for achieving renewable energy-centered sustainable development objectives in rural Africa

Multi-dimensional and overlapping barriers to wellbeing severely affect many areas in rural sub-Saharan Africa. In the region, more than 90% of cropland is rainfed, less than one third of households have electricity, almost 60% of the population reports food insecurity, and more than 35% of the population lives below the international poverty line. Climate change impacts on vulnerable systems with limited adaptive capacity and strong population growth are increasing the magnitude of these challenges, slowing and potentially reversing development. Thus, there is a strong need for multi-sector interventions across multiple levels, from national policies, to regional and river catchment-scale planning, to local planning and investment. To implement such actions, it is key not only to assess technological solutions and their investment needs, but also to appraise their feasibility and implementation potential (from both a policy and a financial point of view). Here, we implement a modelling platform (RE4AFAGRI platform), which soft-links bottom-up process-based water and energy demand and techno-economic infrastructure assessment models (WaterCROP, M-LED, OnSSET) into a multi-node, national Nexus-extended Integrated Assessment Model (MESSAGEix-Nexus) for supply and investment assessment. The results of our analysis shed light on the role of water and energy demand in the agricultural sector for jointly affecting infrastructure and investment requirements for achieving rural sustainable development objectives. We find that scenarios with increased ambition in expanding irrigation and agricultural productivity result in improved diffusion and economic feasibility of infrastructure to provide universal energy access while supporting productive uses of energy. Moreover, we conduct business model analysis to appraise the framework conditions and micro and macro determinants that can ensure feasibility of investment and uptake of small-scale infrastructure, crucial for rural development. Altogether, our research demonstrates how integrated modelling with an explicit focus on Nexus interlinkages can represent the enabling role and the business conditions for renewable energy input in agriculture to become a leverage of rural sustainable development. In turn, important policy and investment-relevant insights can be derived.

Dinámicas socioproductivas en sistemas agrícolas. Bases teóricos conceptuales para su estudio

Agricultural production systems are very dynamic, the use and combination of production factors by the farmer is reflected in different levels of production and family well-being. The objective of this article was to build a theoretical - conceptual reflection, for a multiple, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach in the interpretation of phenomena that are not caused exclusively by one factor. For this, a systematic bibliographic review of documents hosted on Google Scholar/Google was carried out, which allowed analyzing and comparing concepts and theories associated with the topic, highlighting Bertalanffy's systems theory, Morín's complexity and Lonergan's economic dynamics. In addition, concepts associated with the research such as productivity, agricultural systems, territory and family well-being were considered. The search yielded fifty-eight documents, which were subjected to filters for pre-established exclusions. As a result of these filters, eighteen were selected for analysis, which allowed the construction of a theoretical-conceptual body for the study and analysis of socio-productive dynamics in agricultural systems, which focuses on how the inputs represented by the producer, capital, Information and agricultural inputs are related to each other and interact with other factors such as local technology, workforce, territory, environment and marketing and how these generate different levels of performance, productivity and well-being in the system for the farmer and his family. Keywords: family well-being, territory, farmer

Longitudinal and Seasonal Changes of Organic Matter Sources Through a Semi‐Arid River‐Reservoir System

AbstractThe quality and quantity of organic matter (OM) in a river system directly affects ecosystem health; thus, managers benefit from an in‐depth understanding of the drivers and sources of OM. In the Snake River, a highly altered river‐reservoir system in the semi‐arid western United States, OM production and loading are key drivers of reservoir anoxia, which leads to several deleterious processes such as mercury methylation. However, sources and quantities of OM to the Snake River, and the effects of impoundment on OM moving through the river‐reservoir system, are not well understood. Particulate organic carbon (POC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), particulate nitrogen (PN), chlorophyll a (chl‐a), and δ15N–PN and δ13C–POC isotopic ratios were measured bi‐weekly for over 2 years at four locations through the Snake River Hells Canyon Reservoir Complex to determine spatial and temporal patterns of OM quantities and sources. POC concentrations increased through the riverine zone upstream of the reservoirs, likely due to in situ primary production and/or inputs from tributaries and agricultural drains; then decreased through the most upstream reservoir likely due to particle settling. Isotopic ratios and other OM source indicators (δ15N–PN, δ13C–POC, POC:PN, chl‐a:POC) show that the dominant source of particulate OM was phytoplankton with seasonal terrestrial/macrophytic inputs. Results highlight the effects of major tributary and agricultural drain inputs, primary production, and impoundment on OM composition and concentration through a large river‐reservoir system and may inform water quality management efforts in this and similar systems.

Opportunities and challenges for managers within the East-European agriculture sector: Case study on Romania

Agriculture has always been essential to the development of human society, providing the food necessary for human survival. For the Romanian economy, agriculture is a very important sector in terms of the number of enterprises involved and the agricultural area used, but also because of the workforce employed in the sector. However, Romanian agriculture is a vulnerable sector, which has had to face several unfavourable events in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and the lack of agricultural inputs have brought many risks for Romanian farmers in 2023, such as higher food prices and more expensive electricity for consumers. This paper aims to identify the perceptions of the managers regarding the outcomes of the recent events (the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis, the conflict in Ukraine) on the future potential of agriculture in Romania and to determine their perceptions about the impact of other issues with which agricultural companies had to deal with in recent years (climate change, draught, inflation, governmental measures). Other goals of the paper were to find out the managers’ plans and prospects to potentially introduce or use new technologies and digitization within their own companies and uncover their assessments regarding the sector’s future within the European and international context. To identify these perspectives, qualitative research was carried out through in-depth interviews with respondents holding leadership positions within 16 Romanian agricultural companies. The data was analyzed in order to identify similarities and discrepancies within their statements and find corroborative ideas that could help improve the sector. The results of the paper showed how the COVID-19 pandemic and the unstable geo-political context along with other issues increased production costs, but favored digitization and technology. In the past years, because different events changed the European and Romanian economy, a lot of academic research has revolved around the areas of health, energy and technology. Therefore, the study brings elements of originality because of the theme and the approach, which provide valuable insights not only for Romania but for other countries in the region as well.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Satellite and UAV-Based Remote Sensing for Delineating Alfalfa Management Zones Under Heterogeneous Rootzone Soil Salinity

Site-specific application of agricultural inputs is crucial for optimizing resource utilization in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) production and addressing challenges such as soil salinity. The main objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of PlanetScope and UAV-based NDVI imagery for delineating alfalfa management zones under heterogeneous rootzone soil salinity. The research was conducted in the alfalfa field located in Imperial Valley, CA. The extent of rootzone soil salinity was assessed using Electromagnetic induction (EMI) technology and deep soil sampling. Reference management zones were then defined using the soil salinity (ECe) map derived from apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) data. Additionally, a time series of NDVI images from PlanetScope imagery and an NDVI image captured using an unmanned aerial vehicle were used to delineate remote sensing-based management zones. Laboratory analysis of disturbed soil samples collected at various depths provided soil physicochemical property data. Soil salinity of the samples ranged from 2.2 to 13.4 dS m−1 with a moderate level of variability (CV = 37.7%). ECe-based management zones accounted for approximately 83% of the field's variability and exhibited substantial differentiation among delineated zones concerning diverse soil properties, including ECa, ECe, gravimetric water content, Mg2+, boron, Ca2+, Na+, and Cl−. Notably, NDVI images effectively captured field variability on par with ECe-based zoning. Moreover, NDVI images recommended the same optimal number of zones (i.e., three) to address the field's variability, aligning with the ECe-based zoning approach. Our findings highlight that heterogeneity of soil salinity in the root zone primarily impacts the variability of alfalfa NDVI early in the growing season. Consequently, this early stage emerges as the most opportune timeframe for NDVI-based zoning for rapid assessment of rootzone soil salinity concerns.