Higher Crop Yields Research Articles

Forecasting the adaptability of heat-loving crops to climate change in Ukraine

Ukraine has a developed agricultural sector of the economy, where agriculture accounts for 10.4% of the gross domestic product. The relevance of the subject is due to the fact that agricultural production, which is of strategic importance for the country, is very sensitive to ongoing climate changes. Therewith, the crop industry is already undergoing a process of adaptation to the consequences of climate change and agrometeorological factors, which is manifested in the expansion of the range of cultivated crops. The purpose of this study was to predict the adaptability of heat-loving agricultural crops by their yield in various natural and climatic zones of Ukraine. In the course of the research, such methods as analysis, synthesis, factor analysis, correlationregression, and mathematical-statistical were used. Based on the results of the conducted studies, the expediency of considering climate change to obtain high yields of both conventional agricultural crops and heat-loving ones, which were not typical for Polissia and Forest-Steppe, is proved. Based on the analysis of the dynamics of crop yields, it is identified that it is advisable to reorient agricultural production to the cultivation of heat-loving crops – corn, sunflower, soy, and rapeseed in the Forest-Steppe, which in recent years give the same or slightly higher yields than in the south of Ukraine. Growing these crops in the Polissia zone is unprofitable – the yield is quite low, so in these regions, it is worth continuing to grow conventional crops (cereals, legumes, vegetables, potatoes). The established dependences of crop yields on climatic and agrometeorological factors allowed identifying a complex of factors that play a major role in the formation of the yield of specific crops. The developed crop yield models based on multiple correlation allow for predicting it. The results of the study can be useful in planning and optimising the activities of agricultural enterprises, and agriculture in general, in various natural and climatic zones of Ukraine, as a strategic branch of the economy

Long-term impacts of mineral and organic fertilizer inputs on nitrogen use efficiency for different cropping systems and site conditions in Southern China

The application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer is key to realize high crop yields and ensure food security. Excessive N application and relatively low N use efficiency (NUE), however, have led to substantial N losses to air and water with related impacts on biodiversity and health. We used historical data from 13 long-term experiments to unravel how the NUE depends on fertilizer strategy and site conditions such as crop rotation, soil properties and climate. During nearly 40 years of fertilization, NUE decreased when crops were fertilized with N and potassium fertilizers only, while the NUE increased when multi-nutrient or organic fertilizers were used. The highest NUE was found when 25–30% of the total N input was supplied in organic form. Among the site conditions analysed, soil pH was the most important factor controlling NUE with an optimum pH around 6. In addition to soil acidity, phosphorus availability increased NUE. Crop rotation, soil properties and fertilizer management together explained 46–85% of the variation in NUE, allowing site specific fertilizer strategies to be developed boosting NUE. Current NUE equalled on average 30% in paddy soils, 39% in upland soils and 42% in paddy upland soils. Optimizing all fertilizer inputs and soil nutrient levels might increase the NUE up to 40–47% in paddy soils, up to 40–77% in upland soils and even up to 40–87% in a paddy upland soils.

Studies on the Molecular Basis of Heterosis in Arabidopsis thaliana and Vegetable Crops

Heterosis is an important phenomenon for high-yield crop breeding and is utilized for breeding F1 varieties in horticultural crops. However, its molecular mechanism has not been elucidated, and compared to cereals, heterosis is less explored at the molecular level in horticultural crops. In this review, we compiled the new genetic and epigenetic studies on heterosis in horticultural crops. Because of the difficulty of predicting the level of heterosis from the parental genetic distance, molecular approaches are being used to study its molecular basis in horticultural crops. Transcriptome analyses in vegetables have identified photosynthesis-related genes as important in heterosis. Analysis of noncoding RNAs has suggested their involvement in regulating the heterosis of vegetative and fruit tissues. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis has revealed the association of heterozygosity of a specific locus or multiple loci with heterosis of vegetative and fruit tissues. A higher level of DNA methylation was noted in the heterotic F1 of Brassica rapa leafy vegetables, while the roles of other epigenetic modifications such as histone marks have not been explored.

Lettuce Production in Intelligent Greenhouses-3D Imaging and Computer Vision for Plant Spacing Decisions.

Recent studies indicate that food demand will increase by 35-56% over the period 2010-2050 due to population increase, economic development, and urbanization. Greenhouse systems allow for the sustainable intensification of food production with demonstrated high crop production per cultivation area. Breakthroughs in resource-efficient fresh food production merging horticultural and AI expertise take place with the international competition "Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge". This paper describes and analyzes the results of the third edition of this competition. The competition's goal is the realization of the highest net profit in fully autonomous lettuce production. Two cultivation cycles were conducted in six high-tech greenhouse compartments with operational greenhouse decision-making realized at a distance and individually by algorithms of international participating teams. Algorithms were developed based on time series sensor data of the greenhouse climate and crop images. High crop yield and quality, short growing cycles, and low use of resources such as energy for heating, electricity for artificial light, and CO2 were decisive in realizing the competition's goal. The results highlight the importance of plant spacing and the moment of harvest decisions in promoting high crop growth rates while optimizing greenhouse occupation and resource use. In this paper, images taken with depth cameras (RealSense) for each greenhouse were used by computer vision algorithms (Deepabv3+ implemented in detectron2 v0.6) in deciding optimum plant spacing and the moment of harvest. The resulting plant height and coverage could be accurately estimated with an R2 of 0.976, and a mIoU of 98.2, respectively. These two traits were used to develop a light loss and harvest indicator to support remote decision-making. The light loss indicator could be used as a decision tool for timely spacing. Several traits were combined for the harvest indicator, ultimately resulting in a fresh weight estimation with a mean absolute error of 22 g. The proposed non-invasively estimated indicators presented in this article are promising traits to be used towards full autonomation of a dynamic commercial lettuce growing environment. Computer vision algorithms act as a catalyst in remote and non-invasive sensing of crop parameters, decisive for automated, objective, standardized, and data-driven decision making. However, spectral indexes describing lettuces growth and larger datasets than the currently accessible are crucial to address existing shortcomings between academic and industrial production systems that have been encountered in this work.

Global transfer of salinization on irrigated land: Complex network and endogenous structure

Increasing globalization intensifies land redistribution via global supply chains. Interregional trade not only transfers embodied land but also displaces the negative environmental impact of land degradation from one region to another. This study sheds light on land degradation transfer by focusing on salinization directly whereas previous studies have extensively assessed the land resource embodied in trade. To analyze the relationships among economies under interwoven embodied flows, this study integrates complex network analysis and input-output method to observe the endogenous structure of the transfer system. By focusing on irrigated land with higher crop yields than dryland farming, we make policy recommendations on food safety and proper irrigation. The results of the quantitative analysis show that the total amount of saline and sodic irrigated land embodied in global final demand are 260978.23 and 424291.05 square kilometers respectively. Salt-affected area of irrigated land is imported by not only developed countries but also large developing countries such as Mainland China and India. Exports of embodied salt-affected land in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan are pressing issues, accounting for nearly 60% of total exports from net exporters worldwide. It is also demonstrated that embodied transfer network has a basic community structure of three groups due to regional preference in agricultural products trade.

Effect of Nitrogen Application Rate on Grain Yield, Dry Matter and Nitrogen Accumulation and Remobilization in a Winter Wheat-Fresh Maize Cropping System

Three-harvest in two years is a traditional farming system in the Jinzhong Basin of Shanxi Province of the eastern Loess Plateau in China. Recently, an innovative farming system of winter wheat-fresh maize with two-harvest per year, making full use of temperature and light resources, is proposed. However, there is little known of the optimal nitrogen application rate for the innovative farming system to increase crop yield and improve ecological environment. In current study, six nitrogen application rates were carried out, consisting of winter wheat/fresh maize season 0/0 kg·ha-1 (N0, Control), 75/75 kg·ha-1 (N75), 150/150 kg·ha-1 (N150), 225/225 kg·ha-1 (N225), 300/300 kg·ha-1 (N300) and 375/375 kg·ha-1 (N375). The grain yield, dry matter and nitrogen accumulation and remobilization were analyzed to determine the optimal nitrogen application rate in the winter wheat-fresh maize cropping system in the Jinzhong Basin. The results showed that in the winter wheat and fresh maize season, compared with the N0, N75 and N375 treatments, total dry matter accumulation at winter wheat maturity and fresh maize harvesting increased significantly by 82.9%-94.5% and 26.1%-197.1%, respectively, and dry matter remobilization in leaves and stem+sheath (+tassel) increased significantly under the N150 treatment. Total nitrogen accumulations under the N150, N225 and N300 treatments increased significantly by 58.2%-162.9% and 55.7%-301.7% compared with those under the N0 and N75 treatments, respectively. Nitrogen remobilization in the kernel and stem+sheath (+tassel) under the N150 treatment increased significantly compared with the N0 and N75 treatments. In addition, nitrogen partial factor productivity of winter wheat and fresh maize under the N75 and N150 treatments increased significantly by 36.7%-534.1% and 45.2%-390.4% compared with the other nitrogen treatments, respectively, and nitrogen uptake efficiency also increased significantly by 79.1%-321.4% and 58.3%-239.5%, respectively. The yield of winter wheat and fresh maize under the N225 treatment was the highest, which significantly increased by 54.1% and 71.6% compared with that under the N0 treatment, respectively. In summary, nitrogen application rates of 150-225/150-225 kg·ha-1can be potential recommended use amounts with higher crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency in winter wheat-fresh maize cropping system in the Jinzhong Basin.

Defining features of diverse and productive agricultural systems: An archetype analysis of U.S. agricultural counties

Prior research suggests that greater spatial diversity in crops and land use is associated with higher crop yields and improved ecosystem function. However, what leads to the emergence of agricultural systems that meet both productivity and ecological health goals remains an open question. Understanding the factors that differentiate these places from other agricultural systems is key to understanding the mechanisms, pathways, consequences, and constraints to employing diversification as a tool for increasing agricultural sustainability. In this study, we employ archetype analysis to examine the factors uniquely associated with the conjoint existence of high crop diversity and high crop productivity. We identify five agricultural system classes that represent a range of diversity and productivity combinations using k-means cluster analysis then use random forests analysis to identify factors that strongly explain the differences between the classes—describing different agricultural production regimes. Our exploratory analysis of the difference in agricultural system factors across classes suggests (1) crop diversity and its preconditions are associated with the highest yields, (2) biophysical conditions bound diversity-productivity realities, (3) productivity comes at a petrochemical cost, and that (4) crop rotations are a key diversification strategy. Overall, our results suggest that despite clear biophysical constraints on transitions to high diversity—high productivity systems the role of actionable factors on crop production regimes is stronger, providing reason to be hopeful about transitions to agricultural production regimes fit for new climate realities.

Methods of growing high grain yields in Northern Kazakhstan during the years of virgin lands development (the case of the Zarechny state farm)

This article examines the development of virgin and fallow lands in Kazakhstan in the 1950s. Since the climate in the Kazakh steppes was sharply continental, arid, and the soils unsuitable for farming, the cultivation of grain crops was associated with huge risks and difficulties. Everywhere in those years a great number of state farms were established in Kazakhstan, which had to develop not only vast areas in extraordinary conditions and terms, but also apply innovative for that time and for that area methods of cultivation of high yields of grain crops. Analysis of the materials showed that, despite the difficult natural and climatic conditions, lack of agricultural machinery and labour, the virgin lands cultivators harvested high yields by applying the method of layer-by-layer tillage. The authors concluded that in the course of land use state farm specialists tried to maintain the quality characteristics of the soil.

Effects of pH and Crosslinking Agent in the Evaluation of Hydrogels as Potential Nitrate-Controlled Release Systems.

Water scarcity and the loss of fertilizer from agricultural soils through runoff, which also leads to contamination of other areas, are increasingly common problems in agriculture. To mitigate nitrate water pollution, the technology of controlled release formulations (CRFs) provides a promising alternative for improving the management of nutrient supply and decreasing environmental pollution while maintaining good quality and high crop yields. This study describes the influence of pH and crosslinking agent, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) or N,N'-methylenebis (acrylamide) (NMBA), on the behavior of polymeric materials in swelling and nitrate release kinetics. The characterization of hydrogels and CRFs was performed by FTIR, SEM, and swelling properties. Kinetic results were adjusted to Fick, Schott, and a novel equation proposed by the authors. Fixed-bed experiments were carried out by using the NMBA systems, coconut fiber, and commercial KNO3. Results showed that on the one hand, no significant differences were observed in nitrate release kinetics for any system in the selected pH range, this fact allowing to apply these hydrogels to any type of soil. On the other hand, nitrate release from SLC-NMBA was found to be a slower and longer process versus commercial potassium nitrate. These features indicate that the NMBA polymeric system could potentially be applied as a controlled release fertilizer suitable for a wide variety of soil typologies.

Geodetic monitoring of protective forest plantations

One of the main tasks of current state policy in land use is to ensure the rational use of land. Among numerous measures to protect land and fight against negative degradation processes, an important place is a land under field protection forest plantations. They are an integral element of agricultural landscapes, thanks to which high yields of crops are obtained. The idea of using protective forest plantations to protect agricultural land and improve agro-landscapes has been known for a long time, but its final implementation has yet to happen. Achieving the goal necessitated the need to set and address a complex of interrelated tasks: 1. Consider the current state of protective forest plantations in Ukraine; 2. Research the organization of the structure, the existing control system, and the role that protective forest plantations play in the modern agro-landscape system; 3. Substantiate the development of mechanisms for the functioning of effective monitoring of land under protective forest plantations. The obtained research results have theoretical and practical significance for the further development and improvement of systems of field protection forest plantations. The methodology for improving local monitoring and preservation of field protection forest plantations can be used by united territorial communities to maintain forest strips in proper condition. Theoretical and practical conclusions can be used in forming policy on strengthening the protection of lands occupied by field protection forest plantations, improvement of state administration, organization of their monitoring, conducting inventory, and accounting. Proposals for reforming the legislative framework and improving the accounting of field protection forest strips and protective plantations may interest the authorities that regulate these issues. Uncontrolled and irrational use of resources can soon turn into an environmental threat. Keywords: geodetic monitoring, protective forest plantations, geoinformation systems, land protection.

CRISPR-Cas Genome Editing in Crops: A Promising Frontier for Climate-Smart Agriculture

This comprehensive review paper explores the transformative role of CRISPR-Cas technology in addressing critical challenges faced by agriculture in the era of climate change. The exploration unfolds across four key headings. Firstly, under "Understanding CRISPR-Cas Technology," the paper provides a foundational understanding of the CRISPR-Cas systems, elucidating their intricate mechanisms of genome editing and tracing their evolutionary trajectory in agricultural research. Moving to "Climate-Responsive Targets in Crop Genomes," the review delves into the identification of genes associated with climate resilience, discussing strategies for precise CRISPR-Cas target selection. Case studies illuminate successful gene editing applications, showcasing the potential of this technology in fortifying crops against diverse climatic stressors. The section on "Challenges and Opportunities in Crop Engineering" critically examines hurdles such as off-target effects and navigates risk assessments. It explores the evolving regulatory frameworks and ethical considerations surrounding CRISPR-Cas, shedding light on the ethical dimensions of its implementation. The discussion extends to the innovative prospect of leveraging CRISPR-Cas for conferring multiple stress tolerance in crops, introducing a paradigm shift towards sustainable agriculture. The final section, "Towards Sustainable Agriculture: Future Prospects and Applications," envisions the future impact of CRISPR-Cas on global food security. It highlights the synergy between CRISPR-Cas and precision breeding, emphasizing the integration with conventional breeding programs. The prospective impacts on global food security and agricultural sustainability are explored, presenting CRISPR-Cas as a pivotal tool in developing resilient and high-yielding crops that can address the challenges of a changing climate. This review paper synthesizes insights from understanding the technology to addressing challenges and unlocking opportunities, envisioning a sustainable future where CRISPR-Cas plays a central role in advancing agriculture towards resilience, precision, and global food security.

Impact of climate perturbations on seeds and seed quality for global agriculture.

In agriculture, seeds are the most basic and vital input on which croplands productivity depends. These implies a good starting material, good production lines and good storage options. High-quality seed lots must be free of pests and pathogens and contain a required degree of genetic purity. Seeds need also to be stored in good condition between harvest and later sowing, to insure later on the field a good plant density and higher crop yield. In general, these parameters are already widely accepted and considered in many countries where advanced technologies evaluate them. However, the more and more frequently devastating climate changes observed around the world has put seed quality under threat, and current seeds may not be adapted to hazardous and unpredictable conditions. Climate-related factors such as temperature and water availability directly affect seed development and later germination. For these reasons, investigating seed quality in response to climate changes is a step to propose new crop varieties and practices that will bring solutions for our future.

Improving abiotic stress tolerance of forage grasses - prospects of using genome editing.

Due to an increase in the consumption of food, feed, and fuel and to meet global food security needs for the rapidly growing human population, there is a necessity to obtain high-yielding crops that can adapt to future climate changes. Currently, the main feed source used for ruminant livestock production is forage grasses. In temperate climate zones, perennial grasses grown for feed are widely distributed and tend to suffer under unfavorable environmental conditions. Genome editing has been shown to be an effective tool for the development of abiotic stress-resistant plants. The highly versatile CRISPR-Cas system enables increasingly complex modifications in genomes while maintaining precision and low off-target frequency mutations. In this review, we provide an overview of forage grass species that have been subjected to genome editing. We offer a perspective view on the generation of plants resilient to abiotic stresses. Due to the broad factors contributing to these stresses the review focuses on drought, salt, heat, and cold stresses. The application of new genomic techniques (e.g., CRISPR-Cas) allows addressing several challenges caused by climate change and abiotic stresses for developing forage grass cultivars with improved adaptation to the future climatic conditions. Genome editing will contribute towards developing safe and sustainable food systems.

Water-Land-Food Nexus for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Main Grain-Producing Areas of North China Plain.

Stable and sustainable food production is an important guarantee for national security and social stability. The uneven distribution of cultivated land and water resources will threaten national food security. In this study, we adopt the Gini coefficient and water-land matching coefficient for exploring the water-land nexus in the main grain-producing areas of North China Plain (NCP) from 2000 to 2020. The water-land-food nexus considering grain crop production structure is further explored from spatial and temporal multi-scales. The results show the following: (1) The Gini coefficient presents an increasing trend in the NCP, indicating an increasing imbalance in the water-land matching degree among inter-regions. (2) There are significant differences in the WL nexus and WLF nexus among regions, showing a spatial pattern of "worse in the north and better in the south". (3) The cities which belonged to the low WL-low WLF and high WL-low WLF should be considered as key targets when formulating policies. (4) Adjusting the wheat-maize biannual system, optimizing the grain cultivation structure, promoting semi-dryland farming, and developing low water-consuming and high-yielding crop varieties are essential measures for these regions. The research results provide significant reference for the optimal management and sustainable agricultural development of agricultural land and water resources in NCP.

Prioritising climate coping and adaptation strategies for smallholder farmers in Luvuvhu River Catchment, South Africa

Smallholder farmers are highly vulnerable to climate change and require prioritised strategies to minimise the impacts. Challenges faced by smallholder farmers hinder the implementation of coping and adaptation strategies, limiting sustainable agriculture. This study prioritised climate change coping and adaptation strategies and developed a plan to promote implementation by smallholder farmers. Linear additive model of multicriteria decision analysis within CLIMACT Prio tool Excel Spreadsheet was used to prioritise 16 strategies, in consultation with 23 stakeholders. Stakeholders included smallholder farmers, academics, municipal and government officials. Sensitivity analysis was used to determine the effect of changing weights on final ranking of the strategies. Reducing production space to maximise irrigation had the highest score of 1 and rank of 1 while reducing sand mining had the lowest score of 0.82 and rank of 7. Adjusting fertilisers, food preservation, reducing sand mining along river banks, planting high-yielding crop varieties and reducing soil erosion had an equal score of 0.95 and rank of 2. Varying the weight of each criterion did not affect ranking of the strategies. The study found that most strategies had short implementation time frames and were classified as coping strategies. Identified benefits of the prioritised strategies support national, regional and global development goals. The study provided information required for decision support which is an integral part of climate services. It also promotes improvement of relevant stakeholders’ policies and programs to support smallholder farmers.

Response of wheat and maize yields to different tillage practices across China: A meta-analysis

Tillage practice can change soil properties, regulate crop root development and nutrient availability, thus affecting crop growth and yield. However, the effect of no tillage (NT) and deep tillage (DT) on crop yield relative to conventional tillage (CT) under varied environmental and management conditions is unclear in China. We assessed the yield response of wheat and maize to NT and DT relative to CT based on collected field data (518 observations) with a meta-analysis. In general, NT led to negative yield response of both crops relative to CT, whereas maize presented a positive yield response (6.0 %) to NT in sandy soil, and crop yield responses to NT were not significantly different among environmental and management factors. DT significantly increased the yield of wheat (8.7 %) and maize (8.2 %) over CT. For wheat, the yield response to DT was similar across soil textures, climate conditions, experiment durations, N fertilizer rates, and residue managements; however, the interval DT every 2–3 years (13.2 %) and monoculture (13.9 %) increased yield response than the continuous DT (8.4 %) and double cropping system (8.9 %), respectively. The yield response of maize to DT was greater in semidry region (16.1 %) and under high N fertilizer rate (>300 kg N ha−1) (16.1 %), interval DT (12.4 %) compared with those in humid (7.5 %) and semi-humid (6.8 %) regions, low N fertilizer rates (<300 kg N ha−1) (6.9 %−7.5 %), and continuous DT (7.8 %), respectively; but other environmental and management factors did not affect its yield response. Overall, NT presented similar yield of wheat and maize to CT, while DT significantly enhanced their yields; this analysis revealed the crucial environmental and management factors influencing yield response to tillage practices in China, we also gave some suggestions on selecting appropriate tillage methods to realize high crop yield or/and agricultural sustainable development.

Diagnosing the Consequence of Uncertain Nutrient Deficiency, and its Sectionalization in Oryza Sativa Using Ensemble Learning Strategies

Nutrition is an essential component in agriculture worldwide to assure high and consistent crop yields. The leaves frequently present signs of nutritional deficiencies in rice crops. A nutritional deficiency in the rice plant can also be diagnosed based on the leaf color and form. Image categorization is an effective and rapid method for analyzing such conditions. However, despite significant success in image classification, Ensemble Learning (EL) has remained elusive in paddy nutrition analysis. Ensemble learning is a technique for deliberately constructing and combining numerous classifier models to tackle a specific computational issue. In this work, we investigate the preciseness of several uncertain deep learning algorithms to detect nutritional deficits in rice leaves. Through soil and agricultural studies, around 2000 images of rice plant leaves were collected encompassing complete nutritional and about five divisions of nutrient deficiencies. The image proportion for learning via training, validation via evaluation, and testing phase were split into 4: 2: 2. For this, an EL method is chosen for the diagnosis and classification of nutritional deficits. Here, EL procedures are considered as a hybrid classification model that integrates CapsNET (Capsule network) and GCN (Graph Convolutional Neural) networks to evaluate the classification. The hybrid classification effectiveness was verified through color and lesion features which were compared with standard machine learning techniques. This research shows that EL strategies can effectively detect nutritional deficits in paddy. Furthermore, the suggested hybrid classification model achieved a better accuracy rate, along with sensitivity and specificity rates of 97.13%, 97.22%, and 96.47% correspondingly.

Biosynthesis- and transport-mediated dynamic auxin distribution during seed development controls seed size in Arabidopsis.

Auxin is indispensable to the fertilization-induced coordinated development of the embryo, endosperm, and seed coat. However, little attention has been given to the distribution pattern, maintenance mechanism, and function of auxin throughout the process of seed development. In the present study, we found that auxin response signals display a dynamic distribution pattern during Arabidopsis seed development. Shortly after fertilization, strong auxin response signals were observed at the funiculus, chalaza, and micropylar integument where the embryo attaches. Later, additional signals appeared at the middle layer of the inner integument (ii1') above the chalaza and the whole inner layer of the outer integument (oi1). These signals peaked when the seed was mature, then declined upon desiccation and disappeared in the dried seed. Auxin biosynthesis genes, including ASB1, TAA1, YUC1, YUC4, YUC8, and YUC9, contributed to the accumulation of auxin in the funiculus and seed coat. Auxin efflux carrier PIN3 and influx carrier AUX1 also contributed to the polar auxin distribution in the seed coat. PIN3 was expressed in the ii1 (innermost layer of the inner integument) and oi1 layers of the integument and showed polar localization. AUX1 was expressed in both layers of the outer integument and the endosperm and displayed a uniform localization. Further research demonstrated that the accumulation of auxin in the seed coat regulates seed size. Transgenic plants that specifically express the YUC8 gene in the oi2 or ii1 seed coat produced larger seeds. These results provide useful tools for cultivating high-yielding crops.

Field performance of sweet sorghum in salt-affected soils in China: A quantitative synthesis

Sweet sorghum is a high-yield crop with strong resistance, which has the potential to support the development of the forage farming industry in China where vast salt-affected lands are potentially arable. Nutrient management is imperative for sweet sorghum growing on salt-affected lands. Although nitrogen (N) synthetic fertilizers have long been recognized as a key factor for increasing crop yields, their effects on sweet sorghum cultivation are under debate. Consequently, this study integrated the current available observations of yield (n = 255) and partial factor productivity of nitrogen (NPFP, n = 242) of sweet sorghum in salt-affected lands, which included both inland (n = 189) and coastal (n = 66) areas. We quantitatively analyzed the effects of climatic, soil properties and management measures on biomass yield and NPFP of sweet sorghum, comparing the differences between inland and coastal salt-affected lands. We found that average biomass yield and NPFP of sweet sorghum in coastal areas were 19,082.48 ± 8262.75 kg/ha and 107.29 ± 51.44 kg/kg respectively, both significantly lower than that in inland areas (p < 0.05). The N application rate did not have significant promoting effect on the biomass yield of sweet sorghum in inland salt-affected areas (p > 0.05), whereas in coastal salt-affected areas, N application significantly increased the biomass yield of sweet sorghum. Increasing soil organic matter content could promote NPFP in inland areas. The recommended N application rate for inland salt-affected and coastal salt-affected areas were 100 kg/ha and 150 kg/ha respectively. The results indicate that it is crucial to apply nutrient management measures based on the local climatic and soil conditions, since the causes of salinity differ in coastal and inland salt-affected lands. More systematic field studies are required in the future to optimize the management of water and nutrients for sweet sorghum planting in salt-affected lands.

Improving inherent soil productivity underpins agricultural sustainability

There is now increasing attention to how to raise global food production and security due to the expanding population worldwide. Stable and high yield of crops depends on soil quality improvement, which relies on inherent soil productivity increase. Improvement in inherent soil productivity can provide a range of benefits for soil structure, microorganisms, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration. The underlying mechanisms related to inherent soil productivity improvement under different agricultural management on large scales need to be further clarified. Therefore, to achieve agricultural sustainability, efforts need to focus on developing technologies related to straw return, tillage management, and cover cropping and understanding their relationships with inherent soil productivity improvement.