Crop Nutritional Quality Research Articles

Tropospheric ozone pollution: Implication for food security and crop nutrition in South Asia

The study was conducted on ambient ozone (O3), the most phyto-toxic air pollutant, and its effects on the growth and quality of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) and peas (Pisum sativaum) grown in Northern Pakistan during the summer and winter of 2018. Okra was subjected to ambient O3 levels ranging from 43 to 63 ppb during the summer, with a mean O3 concentration of 55 ppb, while peas experienced lower winter concentrations of 15–25 ppb, with a mean O3 concentration of 19 ppb. The results indicated significant impacts on the growth and nutritional quality of crops, especially okra. Anti-ozonant ethylene diurea (EDU) was used for soil drenching to protect okra and green peas from O3 damage. Okra showed notable enhancements of 20%, 20%, 29%, and 13% in ash, protein, fiber, and non-fiber carbohydrates (NFE), respectively. Increase in plant height, leaf numbers, pod length, and dry weight was observed in EDU-treated okra plants. Conversely, peas exhibited less variation, although melioration was observed in plant height, pod numbers, length, and weight with EDU treatment. It was concluded that the concentration of ambient O3 in Peshawar is toxic enough to cause significant damage to crop growth and production. The stark difference in O3 impact during different seasons suggests that higher summer concentrations could severely compromise crop quality. This elicits significant concerns regarding food security in South Asia, especially for summer crops that can jeopardize future food security. It is recommended that further research be conducted on the effects of O3 on other regional crops to assess fully its implications for agricultural sustainability in the area.

Impacts of poultry manure and biochar amendments on the nutrients in sweet potato leaves and the minerals in the storage roots

Poultry manure (PM) has demonstrated its potential to enhance crop nutritional quality. Nevertheless, there remains a dearth of knowledge regarding its synergistic effects when combined with wood biochar (B) on the nutrient concentrations in sweet potato leaves (Ipomoea batatas L.) and the mineral content stored in sweet potato storage roots. Hence, a two-year field trial was undertaken during the 2019 and 2020 cropping seasons in southwestern Nigeria, spanning two locations (Owo—site A and Obasooto—site B), to jointly apply poultry manure and wood biochar as soil amendments aimed at enhancing the nutritional quality of sweet potato crop. Each year, the experiment involved different combinations of poultry manure at rates of 0, 5.0, and 10.0 t ha−1 and biochar at rates of 0, 10.0, 20.0, and 30.0 t ha−1, organized in a 3 × 4 factorial layout. The results of the present study demonstrated that the individual application of poultry manure (PM), biochar (B), or their combination had a significant positive impact on the nutrient composition of sweet potato leaves and minerals stored in the sweet potato storage roots, with notable synergistic effects between poultry manure and biochar (PM × B) in enhancing these parameters. This highlights the potential of biochar to enhance the efficiency of poultry manure utilization and improve nutrient utilization from poultry manure. The highest application rate of poultry manure at 10.0 t ha−1 and biochar at 30.0 t ha−1 (PM10 + B30), resulted in the highest leaf nutrient concentrations and mineral composition compared to other treatments at both sites. Averaged over two years, the highest application rate of poultry manure at 10.0 t ha−1 and biochar at 30.0 t ha−1 (PM10 + B30) significantly increased sweet potato leaf nutrient concentrations: nitrogen by 88.2%, phosphorus by 416.7%, potassium by 123.8%, calcium by 927.3%, and magnesium by 333.3%, compared to those in the control (PM0 + B0). The same treatment increased the concentration of sweet potato root storage minerals: phosphorus by 152.5%, potassium by 77.4%, calcium by 205.5%, magnesium by 294.6%, iron by 268.4%, zinc by 228.6%, and sodium by 433.3%, compared to the control. The highest application rate of poultry manure at 10.0 t ha−1 and biochar at 30.0 t ha−1 yielded the highest economic profitability in terms of gross margin (44,034 US$ ha−1), net return (30,038 US$ ha−1) and return rate or value-to-cost ratio (VCR) (263). The results suggested that the application of poultry manure at 10 t ha−1 and biochar at 30 t ha−1 is economically profitable in the study areas and under similar agroecological zones and soil conditions.

Salt stress amelioration and nutrient strengthening in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) via biochar amendment and zinc fortification: seed priming versus foliar application

Soil salinity is a major nutritional challenge with poor agriculture production characterized by high sodium (Na+) ions in the soil. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and biochar have received attention as a sustainable strategy to reduce biotic and abiotic stress. However, there is a lack of information regarding the incorporation of ZnO NPs with biochar to ameliorate the salinity stress (0, 50,100 mM). Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the potentials of ZnO NPs application (priming and foliar) alone and with a combination of biochar on the growth and nutrient availability of spinach plants under salinity stress. Results demonstrated that salinity stress at a higher rate (100 mM) showed maximum growth retardation by inducing oxidative stress, resulted in reduced photosynthetic rate and nutrient availability. ZnO NPs (priming and foliar) alone enhanced growth, chlorophyll contents and gas exchange parameters by improving the antioxidant enzymes activity of spinach under salinity stress. While, a significant and more pronounced effect was observed at combined treatments of ZnO NPs with biochar amendment. More importantly, ZnO NPs foliar application with biochar significantly reduced the Na+ contents in root 57.69%, and leaves 61.27% of spinach as compared to the respective control. Furthermore, higher nutrient contents were also found at the combined treatment of ZnO NPs foliar application with biochar. Overall, ZnO NPs combined application with biochar proved to be an efficient and sustainable strategy to alleviate salinity stress and improve crop nutritional quality under salinity stress. We inferred that ZnO NPs foliar application with a combination of biochar is more effectual in improving crop nutritional status and salinity mitigation than priming treatments with a combination of biochar.

Rice myo-inositol-3-phosphate synthase 2 (RINO2) alleviates heat injury-induced impairment in pollen germination and tube growth by modulating Ca2+ signaling and actin filament cytoskeleton.

Low phytic acid (lpa) crop is considered as an effective strategy to improve crop nutritional quality, but a substantial decrease in phytic acid (PA) usually has negative effect on agronomic performance and its response to environment adversities. Myo-inositol-3-phosphate synthase (MIPS) is the rate-limiting enzyme in PA biosynthesis pathway, and regarded as the prime target for engineering lpa crop. In this paper, the rice MIPS gene (RINO2) knockout mutants and its wild type were performed to investigate the genotype-dependent alteration in the heat injury-induced spikelet fertility and its underlying mechanism for rice plants being imposed to heat stress at anthesis. Results indicated that RINO2 knockout significantly enhanced the susceptibility of rice spikelet fertility to heat injury, due to the severely exacerbated obstacles in pollen germination and pollen tube growth in pistil for RINO2 knockout under high temperature (HT) at anthesis. The loss of RINO2 function caused a marked reduction in inositol and phosphatidylinositol derivative concentrations in the HT-stressed pollen grains, which resulted in the strikingly lower content of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-diphosphate (PI (4,5) P2) in germinating pollen grain and pollen tube. The insufficient supply of PI (4,5) P2 in the HT-stressed pollen grains disrupted normal Ca2+ gradient in the apical region of pollen tubes and actin filament cytoskeleton in growing pollen tubes. The severely repressed biosynthesis of PI (4,5) P2 was among the regulatory switch steps leading to the impaired pollen germination and deformed pollen tube growth for the HT-stressed pollens of RINO2 knockout mutants.

Global change impacts on mineral nutritional quality of cereal grains: Coordinated datasets and analyses to advance a systems-based understanding

ContextGlobal nutritional health outcomes are directly reliant on agroecosystem nutrient outputs. Appropriately, there is concern surrounding the impacts of a changing climate not only on crop yields, but also on crop nutritional quality (e.g., mineral nutrient concentrations). Quantifying the impacts of elevated CO2 concentrations, elevated temperature, drought stress, edaphic factors, and agronomic management on crop yields and mineral nutrition is critical, yet a systems-level understanding of these interactive factors is poorly developed, limiting our ability to effectively target solutions. Empirical data for climate impacts on crop nutritional quality remain scarce, with much of the research emerging from valuable, but geographically limited, Free-air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiments, several of which suggest that human nutrition will be adversely impacted by e[CO2]. Specific concerns center on observed declines in grain protein, iron, and zinc concentrations due to already wide-spread human nutritional deficiencies in these nutrients. ObjectivesAs global change experiments expand to pursue questions regarding interactive climate impacts on crop yields and nutritional quality, it is imperative to interrogate the measurements, data standardization, and metadata needed for unifying synthesis. The data reported for shifts in crop nutritional quality are often incomplete, precluding the generalizability and comparability of results. MethodsWe frame this review around six inter-reliant methods, tools, and practices to support maximally useful experimental datasets to inform questions of global change impacts on crop nutrition and aid in detecting genotypic differences in mineral nutrient density. The bulk of the data and discussion centers on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) due to the central role this crop plays in human nutrition and sustained biofortification efforts. ResultsTo permit experimental comparability and synthesis, datasets should (1) clearly delineate analytical methods and standards and (2) link mean nutrient concentrations with the covariate of yield. (3) Multi-year, multi-location data is required to identify genotypes with significant deviations in nutrient concentrations, with (4) data normalized for yield within appropriate analytical frameworks. (5) Inclusion of data on soil properties, weather, and abiotic and biotic stresses as well as (6) agronomic practices and nutrient management is essential for understanding global change impacts on nutritional outcomes. ConclusionsCoordinated, multi-dimensional data will permit the syntheses and meta-analyses needed to identify and quantify climate impacts on nutrition. ImplicationsThis work is essential to effectively target nutritional solutions, to develop modeling tools to support nutritional planning, and to identify areas where agronomic management and breeding can minimize climate impacts on nutritional outcomes.

Nutritional Enhancement of Polimaize Lines: Integrating Native Mexican Maize Alleles into High-Yield Varieties

In this study, we evaluated Polimaize lines, named Polimaize, through the integration of alleles from the Native Blue Corn (NBC-JIQ), a local Mexican maize variety indigenous to the northeast region of Michoacán, Mexico, into elite maize lines curated by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). This crossbreeding aimed to enhance the nutritional profile of maize, particularly in terms of antioxidants and anthocyanins, which are scarce in elite lines. Our results demonstrated a significant increase in these compounds in the Polimaize lines, with variations due to heterosis. Despite these nutritional improvements, some traits showed decreased concentrations compared to parent lines, notably in sucrose and tryptophan, suggesting a potential trade-off. The study also found significant heritability in amino acids and tryptophan, while hexose sugars showed no substantial heritability. The Polimaize variety exhibited high starch content heritability, comparable to elite lines. Field trials confirmed Polimaize’s promising yield and agronomic traits, highlighting its potential for enhancing consumer health and contributing to sustainable agriculture through enriched crop nutritional quality. This project underscores the value of integrating local race alleles into elite lines, offering genetic diversity in maize cultivation.

Phosphorylation of Arabidopsis UVR8 photoreceptor modulates protein interactions and responses to UV-B radiation

Exposure of plants to ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation initiates transcriptional responses that modify metabolism, physiology and development to enhance viability in sunlight. Many of these regulatory responses to UV-B radiation are mediated by the photoreceptor UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 (UVR8). Following photoreception, UVR8 interacts directly with multiple proteins to regulate gene expression, but the mechanisms that control differential protein binding to initiate distinct responses are unknown. Here we show that UVR8 is phosphorylated at several sites and that UV-B stimulates phosphorylation at Serine 402. Site-directed mutagenesis to mimic Serine 402 phosphorylation promotes binding of UVR8 to REPRESSOR OF UV-B PHOTOMORPHOGENESIS (RUP) proteins, which negatively regulate UVR8 action. Complementation of the uvr8 mutant with phosphonull or phosphomimetic variants suggests that phosphorylation of Serine 402 modifies UVR8 activity and promotes flavonoid biosynthesis, a key UV-B-stimulated response that enhances plant protection and crop nutritional quality. This research provides a basis to understand how UVR8 interacts differentially with effector proteins to regulate plant responses to UV-B radiation.

Shade Nets Reduced Growth, Nutrition, and Sugars of Hydroponic Lettuce and Basil

Colored shade nets are known to alter the light quality and quantity and thus can influence plant growth and nutritional quality of crops. Lettuce (‘Lollo Antonet’ and ‘Green Forest’) and basil (‘Aroma-2’ and ‘Genovese’) were grown in ebb-and-flow hydroponic tables for 4 weeks. Colored shade nets of aluminet, black, pearl, and red with 50% shading intensity along with a control (no-shade) were used in this experiment. Data for plant growth and leaf quality attributes were collected at harvest time. The no-shade treatment showed increased shoot fresh and dry weight, sugar, and relative chlorophyll content in both lettuce and basil cultivars, whereas plant height and net photosynthesis rates were increased under aluminet, pearl, and red nets. In basil, calcium and sulfur were greatest under no-shade, whereas zinc and copper were greatest under aluminet. Zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium, and manganese concentrations were greatest under no-shade in lettuce. The pearl-colored net increased leaf soluble solids content. No-shade produced the greatest starch values in basil, whereas pearl shade net produced the greatest starch in ‘Lollo Antonet’ in the fall. Light spectra varied with shade net resulting in 90%, 65%, 50%, 30%, and 70% of incident light occurring between 400 and 700 nm for no-shade, pearl, aluminet, black, and red shade nets, respectively. Overall, lettuce and basil plants under no-shade (daily light integral of 20 to 24 mol·m−2·d−1 and temperature of 26 to 30 °C) had increased plant growth and leaf quality in late spring and fall, compared with colored shade nets.

Do agronomic approaches aligned to regenerative agriculture improve the micronutrient concentrations of edible portions of crops? A scoping review of evidence.

Regenerative Agriculture (RA) is used to describe nature-based agronomic approaches that aim to build soil health and crop resilience, minimize negative environmental outcomes, and improve farmer livelihoods. A benefit that is increasingly attributed to crops grown under RA practices is improved nutritional content. However, we do not know the extent to which RA influences crop nutritional quality and under what management approaches and context, can such effects be realized. A scoping review of recent literature (Web of Science, 2000-2021) was carried out to assess the evidence that RA approaches improve crop micronutrient quality. Papers included combinations of agronomic approaches that could be defined as Regenerative: "Organic Inputs" including composts and manures, cover crops, crop rotations, crop residues and biochars; "Reduced Tillage", "Intercropping", "Biostimulants" e.g. arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; plant growth promoting bacteria, and "Irrigation", typically deficit-irrigation and alternate wetting and drying. The crop types reviewed were predetermined covering common sources of food and included: Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), Rice (Oryza sativa L.), Maize (Zea mays L.), Pulses (Fabaceae), Alliums (Allium spp.), and "other" crop types (30 types). This scoping review supports a potential role for RA approaches in increasing the concentrations of micronutrients in the edible portions of several crop types under specific practices, although this was context specific. For example, rice grown under increased organic inputs showed significant increases in grain zinc (Zn) concentration in 15 out of 16 studies. The vitamin C concentration of tomato fruit increased in ~50% of studies when plants were grown under increased organic inputs, and in 76% of studies when plants were grown under deficit irrigation. Overall, the magnitude and reproducibility of the effects of RA practices on most crop nutritional profiles were difficult to assess due to the diversity of RA approaches, geographical conditions, and the limited number of studies for most crops in each of these categories. Future research with appropriate designs, improved on-farm surveillance and nutritional diagnostics are needed for better understanding the potential role of RA in improving the quality of food, human nutrition, and health.

Overexpression of potato ORANGE (StOR) and StOR mutant in Arabidopsis confers increased carotenoid accumulation and tolerance to abiotic stress

ORANGE (OR) plays essential roles in regulating carotenoid homeostasis and enhancing the ability of plants to adapt to environmental stress. However, OR proteins have been functionally characterized in only a few plant species, and little is known about the role of potato OR (StOR). In this study, we characterized the StOR gene in potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Atlantic). StOR is predominantly localized to the chloroplast, and its transcripts are tissue-specifically expressed and significantly induced in response to abiotic stress. Compared with wild type, overexpression of StOR increased β-carotene levels up to 4.8-fold, whereas overexpression of StORHis with a conserved arginine to histidine substitution promoted β-carotene accumulation up to 17.6-fold in Arabidopsis thaliana calli. Neither StOR nor StORHis overexpression dramatically affected the transcript levels of carotenoid biosynthetic genes. Furthermore, overexpression of either StOR or StORHis increased abiotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis, which was associated with higher photosynthetic capacity and antioxidative activity. Taken together, these results indicate that StOR could be exploited as a potential new genetic tool for the improvement of crop nutritional quality and environmental stress tolerance.

Bibliometric Analysis of Functional Crops and Nutritional Quality: Identification of Gene Resources to Improve Crop Nutritional Quality through Gene Editing Technology.

Food security and hidden hunger are two worldwide serious and complex challenges nowadays. As one of the newly emerged technologies, gene editing technology and its application to crop improvement offers the possibility to relieve the pressure of food security and nutrient needs. In this paper, we analyzed the research status of quality improvement based on gene editing using four major crops, including rice, soybean, maize, and wheat, through a bibliometric analysis. The research hotspots now focus on the regulatory network of related traits, quite different from the technical improvements to gene editing in the early stage, while the trends in deregulation in gene-edited crops have accelerated related research. Then, we mined quality-related genes that can be edited to develop functional crops, including 16 genes related to starch, 15 to lipids, 14 to proteins, and 15 to other functional components. These findings will provide useful reference information and gene resources for the improvement of functional crops and nutritional quality based on gene editing technology.

Plant Growth-Promoting Attributes of Zinc Solubilizing Dietzia maris Isolated from Polyhouse Rhizospheric Soil of Punjab.

Zinc solubilizing rhizobacteria (ZSR) enhance the phyto-availability of Zn by converting its insoluble forms into usable forms that are essential for the growth and nutritional quality of crops. In the present study, a potential ZSR, hereafter referred to as strain N14, was isolated from the polyhouse rhizospheric soil of Punjab, India. The isolated rhizobacteria was found to be Gram-positive, aerobic, rod-shaped, and demonstrated a solubilization index of 63.75 on the Bunt Rovira (BR) medium. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that isolated strain N14 matches substantially with type strain Dietzia maris DSM 43672T. In its ZnO broth assay, a significant amount of soluble Zn was detected along with a simultaneous decrease in pH of the broth. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the release of organic acids, specifically, lactic acid and acetic acid by D. maris strain N14 which could be the reason for the decrease in broth pH. The production of indole acetic acid (29.91µg/ml), gibberellic acid (4.72µg/ml), ammonia (38.87µg/ml), siderophore (0.89%), along with the release of HCN and appearance of phosphate solubilization zone (14.4mm) with this strain suggested its possible plant growth-promoting (PGP) characteristics. Therefore, this strain was employed in the formulation of pellets which were applied for in vivo PGPstudies using tomato plants. The developed bioformulated pellets showed a significant enhancement in plant growth as compared to control and vermicompost treated plants. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the Zn solubilizing and PGP characteristics of D. maris.

An exploration into the relationship between mineral elements (nitrogen and phosphorus) and nutritional quality in soil-watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) system

To fundamentally explore the correlation between crop nutritional quality and mineral elements, specific tests and accurate analysis were carried out on all organs and root soil of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). The results showed that the distribution patterns of nitrogen and phosphorus at watermelon maturity were similar, and the average nitrogen and phosphorus contents were in the orders of leaf and seed > stem, peel, root > pulp > root soil, and peel > seed > root, stem, leaf > root soil > pulp, respectively. From the perspective of element geochemistry, biophile and lithophile elements had the strongest correlation with nitrogen and phosphorus, and watermelon did not antagonize soil nitrogen and phosphorus uptake. The prediction model of nitrogen translocation factor in watermelon organs to total acid was established by partial least squares with R2 = 0.81. Significantly, when the isometric log-ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus in watermelon leaves was 1.97 to 2.19, the watermelon pulp showed better quality with total acid > 0.5%, total sugar > 5% and soluble solids > 10%. Therefore, the characterization of nitrogen and phosphorus in watermelon leaves can serve as a non-destructive analysis to predict watermelon fruit quality.

Stereoselective effects of chiral epoxiconazole on the metabolomic and lipidomic profiling of leek

Epoxiconazole is widely used in agriculture to control plant diseases; however, its effect on the nutritional quality of crops is poorly understood. In the present study, the stereoselective effects of epoxiconazole and its enantiomers on leek metabolites and lipids were clarified using metabolomics and lipidomics based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Multivariate analysis revealed significant differences in 123 compounds of leek exposed to chiral epoxiconazole compared to the control group. The order of the degree of influence was (+)-epoxiconazole > racemic-epoxiconazole>(−)-epoxiconazole, indicating significant stereoselectivity. The differential expression of metabolites indicated the activation of stress defense systems, including the antioxidant defense system and signaling pathways and phenylpropanoid metabolism. Alterations in the levels of compounds associated with nutritional quality, such as amino acids, vitamins, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids and lipids indicated changes in the nutritional quality of leek. In general, the nutritional quality of leek decreased after exposure to epoxiconazole.

Mapping and Validation of BrGOLDEN: A Dominant Gene Regulating Carotenoid Accumulation in Brassica rapa.

In plants, the accumulation of carotenoids can maintain the balance of the photosystem and improve crop nutritional quality. Therefore, the molecular mechanisms underlying carotenoid synthesis and accumulation should be further explored. In this study, carotenoid accumulation differed significantly among parental Brassica rapa. Genetic analysis was carried out using the golden inner leaf ‘1900264′ line and the light−yellow inner leaf ‘1900262′ line, showing that the golden inner leaf phenotype was controlled by a single dominant gene. Using bulked−segregant analysis sequencing, BraA09g007080.3C encoding the ORANGE protein was selected as a candidate gene. Sequence alignment revealed that a 4.67 kb long terminal repeat insertion in the third exon of the BrGOLDEN resulted in three alternatively spliced transcripts. The spatiotemporal expression results indicated that BrGOLDEN might regulate the expression levels of carotenoid−synthesis−related genes. After transforming BrGOLDEN into Arabidopsis thaliana, the seed−derived callus showed that BrGOLDENIns and BrGOLDENDel lines presented a yellow color and the BrGOLDENLdel line presented a transparent phenotype. In addition, using the yeast two−hybrid assay, BrGOLDENIns, BrGOLDENLdel, and Brgoldenwt exhibited strong interactions with BrPSY1, but BrGOLDENDel did not interact with BrPSY1 in the split−ubiquitin membrane system. In the secondary and 3D structure analysis, BrGOLDENDel was shown to have lost the PNFPSFIPFLPPL sequences at the 125 amino acid position, which resulted in the α−helices of BrGOLDENDel being disrupted, restricting the formation of the 3D structure and affecting the functions of the protein. These findings may provide new insights into the regulation of carotenoid synthesis in B. rapa.

Improving yield and quality of rice under acid rain stress by regulating nitrogen assimilation with exogenous Ca2.

Acid rain threatens crop yield and nutritional quality, and Ca2+ can regulate plant responses to abiotic stresses. To improve the yield and nutritional quality of crops under acid rain stress, we applied exogenous Ca2+ to regulate nitrogen assimilation in rice seedlings under simulated acid rain stress (pH 4.5 or 3.0), taking yield and nutritional quality of rice as evaluation criteria. We found that Ca2+ (5mM) maintained the total nitrogen content of rice at the seedling and booting stages to alleviate the inhibitory effect of simulated acid rain on rice yield. Meanwhile, Ca2+ improved the activity of glutamate synthase to eliminate the disruption of glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase balance under simulated acid rain. It decreased the efficiency of nitrogen assimilation, thereby reducing the inhibition of essential amino acid content in rice. The mitigation effect on simulated acid rain at pH 4.5 was better than that of simulated acid rain at pH 3.0. Overall, Ca2+ may reduce the negative effect of acid rain on the yield and nutritional quality of crops.

Producing food sustainably

Producing food sustainably

Composted Sewage Sludge Application in a Sugarcane Seedling Nursery: Crop Nutritional Status, Productivity, and Technological Quality Implications

Composted sewage sludge (CSS) contains large amounts of organic matter and nutrients and can be used as an organic fertilizer to improve growth, yield, and quality of sugarcane. However, there is a lack of information regarding the impact of CSS application on sugarcane seedling performance in nursery environments. A field study was conducted using a randomized complete block design to evaluate the development, nutritional status, productivity, and technological quality of sugarcane seedlings after CSS application with or without mineral fertilizer. Morphological variables (stem height, diameter, and number, as well as leaf area), technological attributes (total recoverable sugar: ATR; quantity of sucrose in sugarcane juice: Pol; Brix: percentage (weight/weight) of soluble solids contained in juice; TAH: tons of sugar per hectare), nutritional status, and sugarcane productivity were evaluated. Treatments did not influence morphological and technological variables except for TAH but did positively alter nutritional status and seedling productivity. The application rates of 5.0 and 7.5 Mg ha−1 of CSS with or without mineral fertilizers (MF) provided the greatest increase in crop productivity. Our results indicate that CSS can be a sustainable nutritional management option in sugarcane seedling nurseries, resulting in greater crop productivity at lower mineral fertilization rates.

Effects of combined abiotic stresses on nutrient content of European wheat and implications for nutritional security under climate change

Climate change is causing problems for agriculture, but the effect of combined abiotic stresses on crop nutritional quality is not clear. Here we studied the effect of 10 combinations of climatic conditions (temperature, CO2, O3 and drought) under controlled growth chamber conditions on the grain yield, protein, and mineral content of 3 wheat varieties. Results show that wheat plants under O3 exposure alone concentrated + 15 to + 31% more grain N, Fe, Mg, Mn P and Zn, reduced K by − 5%, and C did not change. Ozone in the presence of elevated CO2 and higher temperature enhanced the content of Fe, Mn, P and Zn by 2–18%. Water-limited chronic O3 exposure resulted in + 9 to + 46% higher concentrations of all the minerals, except K. The effect of climate abiotic factors could increase the ability of wheat to meet adult daily dietary requirements by + 6% to + 12% for protein, Zn and Fe, but decrease those of Mg, Mn and P by − 3% to − 6%, and K by − 62%. The role of wheat in future nutrition security is discussed.

Assessment of elevated CO2 concentrations and heat stress episodes in soybean cultivars growing in heavy metal polluted soils: Crop nutritional quality and food safety

The present study evaluated the interactive effects of global change and heavy metals on the growth and development of three soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] cultivars and the consequences on yield and food safety. Soybean cultivars (Alim 3.14 from Argentina, and ES Mentor and Sigalia, from Germany) were grown until maturity in heavy metals polluted soils from the Rhine Valley, Germany, at two CO2 concentrations (400 and 550 ppm) and heat stress (HS) episodes (9 days with 10 °C higher than maximum regular temperature) during the critical growth period in controlled environmental chambers. Different morpho-physiological parameters, heavy metal concentration in aerial organs, seed quality parameters, and toxicological index were recorded. The results showed that no morphological differences were observed related to CO2. Moreover, Alim 3.14 showed the highest yield under control conditions, but it was more sensitive to climatic conditions than the German cultivars, especially to heat stress which strongly reduces the biomass of the fruits. Heavy metals concentration in soil exceeds the legislation limits for agricultural soils for Cd and Pb, with 1.6 and 487 mg kg−1 respectively. In all cultivars, soybeans accumulated Cd in its aerial organs, and it could be translocated to fruits. Cd concentration in seeds ranged between 0.6 and 2.4 mg kg−1, which exceed legislation limits and with toxicological risk to potential Chinese consumers. Pb levels were lower than Cd in seeds (0.03–0.17 mg kg−1), and the accumulation were concentrated in the vegetative organs, with 93% of the Pb incorporated. Moreover, pods accumulated 11 times more Pb than seeds, which suggests that they act as a barrier to the passage of Pb to their offspring. These results evidence that soybean can easily translocate Cd, but not Pb, to reproductive organs. No regular patterns were observed in relation to climatic influence on heavy metal uptake.