Agricultural Crop Production Research Articles

The impact of climate variability on agricultural food crop production and output: the case of some selected communities in Offinso South District of Ghana

In Ghana, there is evidence of the direct influence of climate change on the environment, such as rising temperatures, variable rainfall, and precipitation. These manifestations affect various facets of Ghana socio-economic structure especially with its high reliance on sectors that are particularly sensitive to climate change like agriculture. In the settlements of Bonsua and Amoawi in the Offinso South District, the study concentrated on the influence of climate change variables on food crop production and how farmers are adapting to the various climate change measures. Out of the total of 650 staple food crop farmers in the dorminated selected communities namely, Amoawi and Bonsua, 160 farmers were chosen for the study using systematic random sampling. The study included both primary and secondary data. Descriptive cross sectional survey was employed for the study. The data collection instrument employed was Structured and semi-structured interviews. SPSS was used to analyse the data. The data collected for the study were analysed using both descriptive and inferential analytical tools. Findings from the study indicate that climate change is a challenge to food crop production since agriculture activity in the two communities are mostly rain feed (97.5%). The majority of the crops grown in the two areas are climate change vulnerable. Another study finding reveals that most respondents have modified their coping mechanisms such as such as growing different crop varieties, early and late planting, irrigation and soil conservation to deal with how climate change is affecting agriculture. Therefore, the study suggests that both government and non-governmental organizations should support farmers in building irrigation systems to continuously irrigate their food crops during the dry season, increasing their farm productivity.

DETERMINING THE FEASIBILITY OF USING A LOGISTICS CENTER IN SUNFLOWER OIL ROAD TRANSPORTATION SUPPLY CHAIN

The Ukraine agro-industrial complex is one of the budget filling main sources. Therefore, it must be constantly modernized, invested in scientific developments and constantly updated equipment, which, in turn, will increase the main agricultural crops production profitability. Increasing the road transport efficiency as a whole, as well as increasing the sunflower oil road transportation efficiency is an important state task for Ukraine, especially in the Ukraine transport sector deep crisis conditions, caused by russian federation military aggression. When the sunflower oil supply chain building, several schemes for the transportation process organization are used - according to the direct option or with the logistics center use. The using a logistics center expediency in the supply chain for sunflower oil automobile transportation will be conducted on the determining basis the total transportation costs according to two schemes. In connection with the using natural research methods impossibility (large material costs), it is advisable to use mathematical modeling methods when conducting experimental studies due to their universality and high accuracy. The sunflower oil road transportation system mathematical model according to the direct option was built and the using the logistics center feasibility area for a given transportation volume was determined. The proposed sunflower oil road transportation models for two transportation options: direct option and using a logistics center correspond modern market conditions - minimal laboriousness and ease of implementation. When the transportation volume value is 100 tons and the transportation distance changes from 51 km to 536 km it is more appropriate to use the direct option and with an increase in the transportation distance, you need to choose the option using logistics centers, since the costs are much lower than with the direct option. Keywords: logistics center, supply chain, sunflower oil.

EVALUATION OF THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF RESTORATION OF DRAINAGE SYSTEMS IN THE HUMID ZONE OF UKRAINE: MAKING INVESTMENT DECISIONS

Approaches to assessment of the economic effectiveness of restoring drainage systems in the humid zone of Ukraine are substantiated. A conceptual scheme has been developed that determines the stages of evaluation, sources of the input array of information, strategic orientation, and invariance of restoration projects, provides for considering a number of risks and limitations of a systemic and non-systemic nature when evaluating the project effectiveness of strategic alternatives. The basis of the evaluation is the results of the analysis of materials regarding the technical condition of drainage systems, the restoration of which in the drainage area is carried out according to two options: modernization of working (on an area of 1311,2 thousand ha) and restoration of non-working (on an area of 1962,9 thousand ha) drainage systems. In the calculations of restoration (modernization) costs, the results of a preliminary assessment of the cost of restoration work for various types of drainage systems (drainage, drainage-humidification, polder, and water circulation systems) were used based on the reduced costs for restoration of the intra-farm and inter-farm network, which were adopted in the "Strategy of Irrigation and Drainage ..." [27]. The economic indicators of the production of agricultural crops economically attractive to farming producers (grain corn, sunflower, rapeseed, soybean) were calculated under the conditions of their production before and after the implementation of the project of restoration (modernization) of drainage systems. The application of the traditional scheme for projected indicators calculating, at which the discount rate was defined as the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), is substantiated. Taking into account the specifics of drainage system restoration (modernization) projects and their duration, the weighted average rates for long-term loans and deposits (risk-free) for legal entities, taking into account the inflation component and the value of equity capital of agro-industrial complex enterprises, were chosen as the discount rate for the preliminary pre-investment analysis. Based on the calculation of the project effectiveness of the restoration (modernization) of drainage systems using the scenario approach according to the consolidated option for determining the payback of investment costs, it is proved that the options at the discount rates r1 (for 2021) and r2 (for the beginning of 2022), as well as the discount rate for the equity scheme, they give positive indicators of the investment project, which indicates the expediency of its implementation and economic efficiency. The internal rate of return for the three options shows a sufficient margin of safety (24–26%). The most economically expedient is the option with a source of financing from the equity capital of agro-industrial complex enterprises, for which the non-discounted (RR) and discounted (DPP) payback terms are 3,4 and 4,7 years, respectively.

Crecimiento de albahaca (Ocimum basilicum L.) ‘Sweet Nufar’ inoculada con hongos micorrícicos arbusculares y Azospirillum brasilense

The use of beneficial microorganisms in agriculture can increase the productivity of agricultural crops; however, there are few studies that consider aromatic plants, such as basil (Ocimum basilicum L.). The aim of this study was to evaluate the growth of 'Sweet Nufar' basil inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Azospirillum brasilense. The treatments tested were: 1) without microorganisms (control), 2) Rizhophagus intraradices, 3) Funneliformis mosseae, 4) AMF consortium, 5) Azospirillum brasilense, 6) R. intraradices + A. brasilense and 7) without microorganisms and irrigated with 100 % Steiner's nutrient solution. Treatments 1 to 6 were irrigated with the same nutrient solution, but at 50 %. Fifty days after transplanting, growth variables, mineral concentration, colonization percentage and number of AMF spores were recorded. The AMF and A. brasilense bacterium increased the fresh biomass weight and leaf area of 'Nufar' basil, which was associated with the highest concentration of nitrogen and potassium in the plant tissue. This implies that the microorganisms evaluated increase the development and growth of basil grown with reduced levels of mineral nutrition, which represents a sustainable alternative in the agronomic management of this crop under greenhouse conditions.

Machine learning versus crop growth models: an ally, not a rival.

The rapid increases of the global population and climate change pose major challenges to a sustainable production of food to meet consumer demands. Process-based models (PBMs) have long been used in agricultural crop production for predicting yield and understanding the environmental regulation of plant physiological processes and its consequences for crop growth and development. In recent years, with the increasing use of sensor and communication technologies for data acquisition in agriculture, machine learning (ML) has become a popular tool in yield prediction (especially on a large scale) and phenotyping. Both PBMs and ML are frequently used in studies on major challenges in crop production and each has its own advantages and drawbacks. We propose to combine PBMs and ML given their intrinsic complementarity, to develop knowledge- and data-driven modelling (KDDM) with high prediction accuracy as well as good interpretability. Parallel, serial and modular structures are three main modes can be adopted to develop KDDM for agricultural applications. The KDDM approach helps to simplify model parameterization by making use of sensor data and improves the accuracy of yield prediction. Furthermore, the KDDM approach has great potential to expand the boundary of current crop models to allow upscaling towards a farm, regional or global level and downscaling to the gene-to-cell level. The KDDM approach is a promising way of combining simulation models in agriculture with the fast developments in data science while mechanisms of many genetic and physiological processes are still under investigation, especially at the nexus of increasing food production, mitigating climate change and achieving sustainability.

Smoke‐Driven Changes in Photosynthetically Active Radiation During the U.S. Agricultural Growing Season

AbstractWildfire smoke is frequently present over the U.S. during the agricultural growing season and will likely increase with climate change. Studies of smoke impacts have largely focused on air quality and human health; however, understanding smoke's impact on photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is essential for predicting how smoke affects plant growth. We compare surface shortwave irradiance and diffuse fraction (DF) on smoke‐impacted and smoke‐free days from 2006 to 2020 using data from multifilter rotating shadowband radiometers at 10 U.S. Department of Agriculture UV‐B Monitoring and Research Program stations and smoke plume locations from operational satellite products. On average, 20% of growing season days are smoke‐impacted, but smoke prevalence increases over time (r = 0.60, p < 0.05). Smoke presence peaks in the mid to late growing season (i.e., July, August), particularly over the northern Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Midwest. We find an increase in the distribution of PAR DF on smoke‐impacted days, with larger increases at lower cloud fractions. On clear‐sky days, daily average PAR DF increases by 10 percentage points when smoke is present. Spectral analysis of clear‐sky days shows smoke increases DF (average: +45%) and decreases total irradiance (average: −6%) across all six wavelengths measured from 368 to 870 nm. Optical depth measurements from ground and satellite observations both indicate that spectral DF increases and total spectral irradiance decreases with increasing smoke plume optical depth. Our analysis provides a foundation for understanding smoke's impact on PAR, which carries implications for agricultural crop productivity under a changing climate.

Application of microalgae Chlamydomonas applanata M9V and Chlorella vulgaris S3 for wheat growth promotion and as urea alternatives.

Excessive use of chemical fertilizers to meet the global food demand has caused extensive environmental pollution. Microalgae can be used to enhance agricultural crop production as a potentially sustainable and eco-friendly alternative. In this study, Chlamydomonas applanata M9V and Chlorella vulgaris S3 were isolated from the soil and mass-cultured for use as microalgal fertilizers. The influence of microalgae M9V and S3 on the growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and soil properties was evaluated and compared with that of chemical urea fertilizer. A pot experiment was conducted with six treatments, i.e., living M9V (M9VL), dead M9V (M9VD), living S3 (S3L), dead S3 (S3D), urea fertilizer (urea), and control without fertilizer (control). M9VL was found to have the best effect on wheat growth promotion, followed by M9VD and S3D. In addition, M9VL resulted in the highest enhancement of shoot fresh weight (166.67 and 125.68%), root dry weight (188.89 and 77.35%), leaf length (26.88 and 14.56%), root length (46.04 and 43.93%), chlorophyll a (257.81 and 82.23%), and chlorophyll b contents (269.00 and 247.27%) comparing to the control and urea treatments, respectively. Moreover, all microalgal fertilizer treatments increased soil organic matter (SOM) by 1.77-23.10%, total carbon (TC) by 7.14-14.46%, and C:N ratio by 2.99-11.73% compared to the control and urea treatments. Overall, this study provided two microalgae strains, M9V and S3, that could promote wheat growth and improve soil properties, thus highlighting the use of microalgae as biofertilizers to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and promoting sustainable agricultural production.

Optimal cropping pattern based on short-term streamflow forecasts to improve agricultural economic benefits and crop productivity under uncertainty conditions

ABSTRACT Accelerated urbanization has led to diminished land for agricultural activities. Riverine ecosystems play an important role in allocating fertile lands to support agricultural activities. A substantial component of the uncertainty in agricultural productivity comes from seasonal variations linked to inter-annual climate fluctuations. Therefore, understanding the complicated phenomena of streamflow in a riverine environment is important for agricultural and water resources decision making. The present work focuses on forecasting monthly to seasonal streamflow using persistence flow, historical analogues, and artificial neural network approaches. Based on these forecasts, decisions on cropping patterns were made by developing an optimization framework using the constrained linear programming and inexact multiobjective fuzzy linear programming approaches. The proposed fuzzy programming approach was found to be beneficial in producing fair and stable solutions under uncertainty. The findings reveal that integrating forecasting and optimization knowledge could aid in precisely evaluating ecosystem services and meeting rising food demand.

Satellite-Based Determination of the Water Footprint of Carrots and Onions Grown in the Arid Climate of Saudi Arabia

Increasing demand for food, climate change, and other human interventions are leading to significant increases in water consumption by the agricultural sector. This requires rationalizing the water used for the production of agricultural crops through improved irrigation management practices. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the water footprint (WF) of onion (Allium cepa L.) and carrot (Daucus carota) crops using the CROPWAT model and the SSEB (Simplified Surface Energy Balance) algorithm. Experiments were carried out at two center-pivot irrigated fields belonging to Tawdeehiya Commercial Farms in the southeastern region of the Riyadh governorate, Saudi Arabia. Individual bands and vegetation indices (VIs) were retrieved from Sentinel-2 satellite data, including the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), optimized soil adjusted vegetation index (OSAVI), renormalized difference vegetation index (RDVI), and enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and the land surface temperatures (LST) extracted from Landsat-8 data were used to estimate crop productivity (CP), crop water use (CWU) (i.e., evapotranspiration—ETa), and crop WF. Crop growth/phenology stages and georeferenced biophysical parameters were recorded during the growth period, and crop yield samples were collected randomly from predetermined sampling locations. It was found that the NIR band was appropriate for predicting onion yield (R2 = 0.68; p > F = 0.02) and carrot yield (R2 = 0.77; p > F = 0.02). The results also showed the feasibility of using the RDVI and EVI to estimate the yields of onion and carrot crops, with bias values of 15% and –17%, respectively. The CWU has also been successfully estimated using the SSEB algorithm, with an overall accuracy of 89%. The SSEB-estimated CWU was relatively high compared to the applied amounts by 10.6% (onions) and 12.6% (carrots). Finally, the crop WF was successfully estimated at 312 m3 t−1 and 230 m3 t−1 for carrots and onions, respectively, with an overall accuracy of 71.11%. The outcomes of this study can serve as a reference for crop irrigation management practices in the study region and areas with similar environmental conditions.

Elucidation of Essential Genes and Mutant Fitness during Adaptation toward Nitrogen Fixation Conditions in the Endophyte Azoarcus olearius BH72 Revealed by Tn-Seq.

Azoarcus olearius BH72 is a diazotrophic model endophyte that contributes fixed nitrogen to its host plant, Kallar grass, and expresses nitrogenase genes endophytically. Despite extensive studies on biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) of diazotrophic endophytes, little is known about global genetic players involved in survival under respective physiological conditions. Here, we report a global genomic screen for putatively essential genes of A. olearius employing Tn5 transposon mutagenesis with a modified transposon combined with high-throughput sequencing (Tn-Seq). A large Tn5 master library of ~6 × 105 insertion mutants of strain BH72 was obtained. Next-generation sequencing identified 183,437 unique insertion sites into the 4,376,040-bp genome, displaying one insertion every 24 bp on average. Applying stringent criteria, we describe 616 genes as putatively essential for growth on rich medium. COG (Clusters of Orthologous Groups) assignment of the 564 identified protein-coding genes revealed enrichment of genes related to core cellular functions and cell viability. To mimic gradual adaptations toward BNF conditions, the Tn5 mutant library was grown aerobically in synthetic medium or microaerobically on either combined or atmospheric nitrogen. Enrichment and depletion analysis of Tn5 mutants not only demonstrated the role of BNF- and metabolism-related proteins but also revealed that, strikingly, many genes relevant for plant-microbe interactions decrease bacterial competitiveness in pure culture, such type IV pilus- and bacterial envelope-associated genes. IMPORTANCE A constantly growing world population and the daunting challenge of climate change demand new strategies in agricultural crop production. Intensive usage of chemical fertilizers, overloading the world's fields with organic input, threaten terrestrial and marine ecosystems as well as human health. Long overlooked, the beneficial interaction of endophytic bacteria and grasses has attracted ever-growing interest in research in the last decade. Capable of biological nitrogen fixation, diazotrophic endophytes not only provide a valuable source of combined nitrogen but also are known for diverse plant growth-promoting effects, thereby contributing to plant productivity. Elucidation of an essential gene set for a prominent model endophyte such as A. olearius BH72 provides us with powerful insights into its basic lifestyle. Knowledge about genes detrimental or advantageous under defined physiological conditions may point out a way of manipulating key steps in the bacterium's lifestyle and plant interaction toward a more sustainable agriculture.

Changes in the Microbial Structure of the Root Soil and the Yield of Chinese Baby Cabbage by Chemical Fertilizer Reduction with Bio-Organic Fertilizer Application.

Using high-throughput sequencing, this study aimed to explore the response of soil microbial community and Chinese baby cabbage yield to the reduction of chemical fertilizers combined with bio-organic fertilizer. Our experiments consisted of conventional fertilizer (CK), 30% chemical fertilizer reduction + 6,000 kg/ha bio-organic fertilizer (T1), 30% chemical fertilizer reduction + 9,000 kg/ha bio-organic fertilizer (T2), 40% chemical fertilizer reduction + 6,000 kg/ha bio-organic fertilizer (T3), and 40% chemical fertilizer reduction + 9,000 kg/ha bio-organic fertilizer (T4). Compared with CK, soil microbial diversity and richness were higher for all treatments with added bio-organic fertilizer. Principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) showed that the bacterial and fungal communities in T2 and T4 were similar to each other. Redundancy and Spearman's correlation analyses of microbial communities and soil physicochemical properties revealed that reductions in chemical fertilizer rate combined with bio-organic fertilizer had a stronger impact on the fungal than the bacterial community. They also increased the relative abundance of the dominant bacterial and fungal phyla. Chinese baby cabbage yield was relatively higher under the combined bio-organic fertilizer plus reduced chemical fertilizer rate with T2 showing the highest yield. Therefore, this approach is feasible for sustainable agricultural, cost-effective and profitable crop production. IMPORTANCE Chemical fertilizers are commonly used for agriculture, though bio-organic fertilizers may be more efficient. We found that a mixture of bio-organic and moderately reduced chemical fertilizer was more effective than chemical fertilizer alone, as it raised the Chinese baby cabbage yield. Further, the presence of bio-organic fertilizer enhanced overall soil physicochemistry, as well as improved the beneficial bacterial and fungal abundance and diversity. Thus, we found that fertilizer combination sustainably & cost-effectively improves crop & soil quality.

Impact of Covid-19 Lockdown on Agricultural Production

This study aims to assess the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on the agricultural crop production in India and identify the factors affecting the agricultural crop production in India during the lockdown period. Due to the pandemic, production of Rabi crops such as Jowar and coarse cereals have declined, and the growth rate of Kharif crops such as Bajra and coarse cereals production have also been dropped. Among the horticulture crops, the growth rate of fruit production has been adversely affected by the restrictions imposed during the lockdown. The fertilizer consumption, annual rainfall, pesticides consumption and storage capacity are identified as major determinants affecting the agricultural crop production in the country during the lockdown period.

Impact assessment of soil salinity on crop production in Uzbekistan and its global significance

Food security is threatened by the increasing food demand, competition for land and water resources, soil salinization, and curbing hazardous emissions. Currently, climate change is predicted to affect agricultural crop yields, which has been revealed by the statistical analysis of crop yield data. Studies have mapped and assessed soil salinity under climate change conditions, derived the relationship between soil salinity and groundwater patterns, and evaluated the impact of soil salinity on agricultural crop production worldwide. However, no investigation was focused on the dynamic cropland changes of Uzbekistan by soil salinity. The impact of fertilizer, herbicide, fungicide and insecticide applications on soil salinity is poorly understood not only in Uzbekistan but around the world. In addition, the impact of crop yield decline in Uzbekistan on other countries is not clear. To address above questions, nationwide cropland and soil salinity changes in Uzbekistan were monitored and mapped using the Google Earth engine platform for 2000–2020. It was found that the phosphorus-based mineral fertilizer contributed to soil salinity. However, no effect of other agrochemical applications on soil salinity was observed. Furthermore, the impact of soil salinity on crop production in Uzbekistan was sufficiently high, leading to rapid decline of the export rate of cotton and wheat. This rapid decline of export could jeopardize the economics of Bangladesh and food security of Afghanistan. Development of sustainable strategies for mitigating climatic variabilities and fertilizer management to reduce the severity of soil salinization in Uzbekistan is in urgent need.

Salicylaldehyde and D-(+)-galactose functionalized chitosan oligosaccharide nanoparticles as carriers for sustained release of pesticide with enhanced UV stability

Sustainable food consumption is intertwined with sustainable agriculture development, which focuses on the production and protection of agricultural crops in a safe and effective fashion. Herein, amphiphilic functionalized chitosan oligosaccharide nanoparticles (CSD) were formed by a Schiff base reaction grafted with salicylaldehyde and D-(+)-galactose (D-Gal). Avermectin (AVM) was used as a model pesticide and self-assembled onto CSD to obtain AVM@CSD nanoparticles with an encapsulation efficiency of 74.94%. AVM@CSD nanocarrier exhibited excellent anti-UV property to retain more AVM, due to their Schiff base structure and salicylaldehyde for UV shielding. Compared with bare AVM and commercial AVM emulsifiable concentrates, AVM@CSD preserved high insecticidal activity after UV irradiation. Additionally, CSD carrier promoted cucumber seed germination and seedling growth. These data suggested the potential utilization of the amphiphilic chitosan oligosaccharide as carriers for pesticides to improve their delivery and release properties and opens a novel avenue towards the application of water-dispersible and biological CSD in the field of pest management and plant growth.

Review of Adoption and Impact Assessment on Conservation Agriculture in Ethiopia

Conservation agriculture plays a great role in improving farming land productivity and mitigating climate change impact. It is a concept for resource-saving agricultural crop production that strives to achieve acceptable profits together with high and sustained production levels while concurrently conserving the environment. The paper initially investigates theoretical concepts of conservation agriculture in Ethiopia. It then reviews the adaptation level of conservation agriculture by farm households and its impact on their productivity. The various challenges for the adoption of Conservation agriculture are lack of knowledge in CA at the expertise and farmers' level; the belief of farmers on tillage, technical, social, financial, and policy issues; the market does not supply them with the necessary seeds to carry out intercropping; high input costs, low input availability, and associated high opportunity costs for crop residue; and also lack biomass and residues. Its major impacts are increased labor productivity at the time of soil preparation; it helps with water harvesting strategy; the benefit of crop residue retention is a higher content of organic matter in the soil and higher water infiltration rates, which reduces surface runoff and soil erosion significantly.

Economic Assessment and State Regulation of the Agri-industrial Sector in Ukraine: Solutions for Ensuring Food Security (Modeling and Analysis)

The paper studies the dynamics of the relative production and consumption of the main agricultural crops in Ukrainian enterprises for 2017- 2021 years, in particular sunflower. The issues and provisions given in it may be used to analyze existing theoretical positions. Because of aggressive invasion of Russia, Ukraine suffers significant losses in agricultural production. This situation has a negative impact on the provision of agricultural food and food security around the world. In 2022, the war prevented Ukraine from sowing all areas of crops, which in fact, according to various estimates, range from 50% to 75%. Therefore, the issue of providing agricultural products not only to Ukraine, but also to those who import Ukrainian sunflower crops and other crops is of practical interest. In this work the relationship between the volume of sunflower gross harvest and its sown areas on many years research data – more than thirty years has been estimated on the basis of correlation-regression modeling. According to FAO estimates, 25-30% of fields in the 2022-2023 season may be unsown or unharvested in Ukraine. In addition, crop yields are expected to decline. According to some experts, in 2022 in Ukraine the sown area is less than 80% of last year’s figures, and the total sown area has decreased to 3 million hectares. In this work on the basis of the analytical method the forecast of productivity in the conditions of military aggression of Russia against Ukraine at change of sown territories on an example of oilseeds is formed. It is established that price instability restrains the intensification, which increases the yield of oilseeds, but the degree of risk increases too. A set of measures for economic stimulation of agricultural cultivation of oilseeds has been developed, the foundations for the development of partnerships between the state and agrarian business and the population have been formed.

Foliar Application of Boron Improves the Growth and Yield in Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.)

Crop productivity is limited by several environmental constraints. Among these, micronutrients availability to plants plays a key role in agricultural crops production. Boron is an important micronutrient for crops and it significantly aids in a grain setting. Soil applied boron become unavailable to plant due to fixation in soil sites and cause nutrients deficiency in plants, immature grain settings, and yield reduction. Thus, the aim of this work was to quantify the impact of the foliar application of boron gradients on the yield and growth of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Five treatments were studied, which included; T1= Control (0% B), T2 = 0.5% B, T3 = 1% B, T4 =1.5% B, and T5 =2% B. The results indicated that foliar application of B significantly increased the yield and growth traits in barley. However, 2% foliar application of B showed the highest value for all studied traits including; plant height (5.6%), number of tillers per plant (2.4%), spike length (32%), weight gain per spike (6.2%), seed index (6%), grain yield (10%), and biological yield (4%). Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the foliar application of B at 2% can be used to improve the growth and yield in barley.

Effect of shading determined by photovoltaic panels installed above the vines on the performance of cv. Corvina (Vitis vinifera L.)

Agrivoltaic (AV) is a new concept integrating both the production of agricultural crops and electric power on the same land area through the installation of photovoltaic panels some meters above the soil surface and the crop canopy. In the present situation of energy demand from renewable sources, agrivoltaic systems with vines and/or fruit trees under the photovoltaic panels has still received poor attention. On the basis of this lack, the present 3-year study (2017–2019) aimed to investigate the effects of photovoltaic panels on grapevines of variety Corvina (Vitis vinifera L.). In particular, the experiment was carried out in a vineyard located in Northern Italy, Veneto region, with the Corvina (Vitis vinifera L.) grape variety and the effects of shading by the panels on both physiological activities and vine performances were analyzed. Photovoltaic panels reduced both air and soil maximum temperature by 1–2 °C. Vine transpiration on early morning was 0.83–0.90 in AV vs. 1.03–1.21 mmol H2O m−2s−1 in full sun (FS) vines, whereas at midday values were significantly higher in AV vines (0.56–0.65) with respect to FS vines (0.38–0.44 mmol H2O m−2s−1). Photosynthesis followed the same pattern with values significantly higher in the FS vines at morning (9.34–11.03 μmol CO2m−2s−1) with respect to AV vines (5.24–6–84 CO2m−2s−1), and the opposite was detected at midday, with 1.57–3.05 μmol CO2m−2s−1 in AV vines and 0.58–2.05 μmol CO2m−2s−1 in FS vines. The stem water potential was significantly reduced (less negative) by shading of the panels both at morning and at midday of values around 1–6 MPa thus indicating less stressful conditions for AV vines. The photovoltaic panels affected the microclimate of the vineyard (lower air and soil temperature, higher soil matric potential) in the three seasons. Vine productivity parameters (yield, cluster number and weight) were influenced to a limited extent; anthocyanins, TSS and polyphenols were reduced in grape must from AV vines. These findings show that the panels affect the vines microclimate and physiology and that yield reductions under AV are observed, but under hot and dry weather conditions results could be very interesting either for energy or fruit production. Further experiments need to be conducted in such environmental conditions also in the perspectives of the climate change.

The Effect of Salt Solutions on the DMDH Enzyme Activity in the Hordeum vulgare Primary Incubation

Plants are subjected to a wide range of environmental stresses which reduces and limits the productivity of agricultural crops. Two types of environmental stresses are encountered to plants which can be categorized as abiotic stress and biotic stress. The abiotic stress causes the loss of major crop plants worldwide and includes radiation, soil salinization, floods, drought, extremes in temperature, heavy metals, etc. Abiotic stresses such as drought (water stress), excessive watering (water logging), extreme temperatures (cold, frost and heat), soil salinization and mineral toxicity negatively impact growth, development, yield and seed quality of crop and other plants. In future it is predicted that freshwater scarcity will increase and ultimately intensity of abiotic stresses will increase.

Review on the Mutual effects of Conservation Agriculture and Integrated Pest Management on Pest and Disease Control in Agriculture

Crop pests and pathogens have caused a serious significant yield loss of more than 40% in major crops worldwide in recent years. It is projected that many important crop producing countries will be fully saturated with pests and pathogens in next few years. Endevours to control pests using conventional methods have failed to achieve the goals of sustainable yield in agriculture. This is due to negative effects associated with the used modern agriculture inputs to control insect pests and pathogens. The failure to supply enough food to feed the growing population calls for identifying appropriate method that will sustain yield without harming the environment, human and other organisms. This review used online materials to identify the advantages of combined integrated pest management (IPM) and conservation agriculture (CA) in the agricultural crop production. The benefits farmers accrue as the result of combined appropriate IPM and CA management strategies includes; reduced production cost, slower development of resistance to chemicals. Achieving long term pest, pathogens and weeds control, reduce risks due to pesticides or herbicides use, reduction of emergence of cultivar resistant breaking species/isolates/tribes/strains, ultimately improves yield. Others are low labour requirement, increase water conservation, fertility increase and reduced land degradation. The job that is yet to be done is research on appropriate IPM and CA for specific crops is needed. It is concluded that the appropriate solutions will depend on the effective promotion, monitoring and evaluation of changes in farming practices. This calls for stakeholders including researchers, scientists, political class, the government and farmers come together to discuss issues and lay down laws and regulation that will help the implementation of IPM and CA to rescue the world vulnerable community and the environment.