Strategies For Sustainable Production Research Articles

Rollable and Ventilated Net‐Based Solar Thermal Water Evaporator for Casting on Water Surface

The solar‐thermal evaporator provides a sustainable freshwater production strategy, of which the large‐scale floating applications on river or sea still confront the challenge of the highly efficient flexible evaporator. However, existing flexible evaporators often use porous gel to load solar‐thermal materials, which only allow water to evaporate out from outermost surface but waste heat by dissipating into bulky water. Herein, a rollable and ventilated flexible solar‐thermal evaporator based on dendritic net substrate is presented, which can be cast in a scalable way on waving water surface. Compared to that of the porous gel, the dendritic structure can not only capture photons efficiently, but also enlarge the ratio of water evaporation area to heat dissipation area by over 109 times, with efficient water transfer path of merely 0.3 cm length in average for even 1 m2 water evaporation area. The flexible evaporator can achieve a photothermal evaporation temperature of 108 °C and an evaporation rate of >1.46 kg m−2 h−1@1 sun illumination. A sustainable ecological circulation evaporation system is demonstrated to show its potential for scalable floating‐on‐sea applications.

Optimal nitrogen rate strategy for sustainable rice production in China.

Avoiding excessive agricultural nitrogen (N) use without compromising yields has long been a priority for both research and government policy in China1,2. Although numerous rice-related strategies have been proposed3-5, few studies have assessed their impacts on nationalfood self-sufficiency and environmental sustainability and fewer still have considered economic risks faced by millions of smallholders. Here we established an optimal N rate strategy based on maximizing either economic (ON) or ecological (EON) performance using new subregion-specific models. Using an extensive on-farm dataset, we then assessed the risk of yield losses among smallholder farmers and thechallengesof implementing the optimal N rate strategy. We find that meeting national rice production targets in 2030 is possible while concurrently reducing nationwide N consumption by 10% (6-16%) and 27% (22-32%), mitigating reactive N (Nr) losses by 7% (3-13%) and 24% (19-28%) and increasing N-use efficiency by 30% (3-57%) and 36% (8-64%) for ON and EON, respectively. This study identifies and targets subregions with disproportionate environmental impacts and proposes N rate strategies to limit national Nr pollution below proposed environmental thresholds, without compromising soil N stocks or economic benefits for smallholders. Thereafter, the preferable N strategy is allocated to each region based on the trade-off between economic risk and environmental benefit. To facilitate the adoption of the annually revised subregional N rate strategy, several recommendations were provided, including a monitoring network, fertilization quotas and smallholder subsidies.

Response of African Sorghum Genotypes for Drought Tolerance under Variable Environments

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is the main food staple for millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Asia. Sorghum is relatively drought tolerant and cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions under rain-fed production. However, severe drought stress often leads to crop loss and declined productivity. The development and deployment of high-yielding and drought-adapted genotypes is a cost-effective strategy for sustainable sorghum production globally. The objective of this study was to determine drought tolerance and genotype-by-environment interaction (GEI) effects on grain yields of a population of African sorghum genotypes to identify high-yielding and drought-adapted genotypes for direct production and also for use in breeding programs. Two hundred and twenty-five sorghum genotypes were evaluated under non-stressed (NS), pre-anthesis drought stress (PreADS), and post-anthesis drought stress (PoADS) conditions under field and greenhouse environments using a 15 × 15 alpha lattice design in two replicates. The three water regimes and two environments resulted in six testing environments. Data were collected on grain yield and drought tolerance parameters, and additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) analysis were computed. The mean grain yield under NS, PreADS, and PoADS were 3.70, 1.76, and 2.58 t/ha, in that order. The best genotypes adapted to non-stressed environments were G09, and G109, whereas G114 and G56 were suitable for non-stressed and stressed conditions. G72 and G75 displayed the best performance in PreADS conditions only, whereas genotypes G210 and G12 were identified as high performers under PoADS only. The AMMI analysis revealed that genotype (G), environment (E), and GEI were significant (p < 0.05), which accounted for 38.7, 44.6, and 16.6% of the total explained variation in grain yield. AMMI 4 was the best-fitting model for grain yield. Based on AMMI 4 and the Best Linear Unbiased Estimates (BLUPs) calculations, genotypes G119 and G127 with a grain yield of 5.6 t/ha and 6.3 t/ha were selected as being suitable for non-stressed conditions. Genotypes G8 and G71 with BLUPs of 2.5 t/ha and 2.6 t/ha were best-suited for pre-anthesis drought stress conditions, whereas genotypes G115 and G120 with BLUPs of 4.2 t/ha and 4.3 t/ha are recommended for post-anthesis drought-prone environments, respectively. The identified sorghum genotypes are recommended for production in dry agro-ecologies of sub-Saharan Africa characterized by pre-and-post anthesis drought stress. In addition, the identified genotypes are valuable genetic resources to develop novel drought-tolerance material.

Spatial variability of herbage yield, grazing capacity and plant diversity in a tropical savannah rangeland ecosystem

To improve ruminant livestock production, evaluation of rangelands must be a routine. Rangeland evaluation gives information about the vegetation structure, biomass yield and quality. The Guinea savannah rangelands of Ghana lack research that characterises the spatial variability of herbage yield and quality. It was hypothesised that there is spatial heterogeneity in herbage yield, grazing capacity and plant diversity in the Guinea savannah rangelands of Ghana. The objective was to evaluate the spatial structure of herbage production and grazing capacity in the Guinea savannah rangelands of Ghana for sustainable livestock production. Data were collected from 105 sampling sites and integrated into geo-statistics, using ordinary kriging interpolation to generate herbage yield and grazing capacity estimates. Herbage yield and grazing capacity ranged from 0.63 t ha−1 to 13.43 t ha−1 and 0.18 LU ha−1 to 3.79 LU ha−1 respectively. The root mean square error and the average standard error values were close (2.38 and 2.51 respectively for herbage yield and 0.67 and 0.71 respectively for grazing capacity). Species diversity using the Shannon’s index ranged from 1.13 to 2.40. There was spatial heterogeneity in herbage yield, grazing capacity and species diversity in Ghana’s Guinea savannah rangelands with some parts needing effective site-specific improvement strategies for sustainable livestock production.

Multispecies Bacterial Bio-Input: Tracking and Plant-Growth-Promoting Effect on Lettuce var. sagess.

The use of multispecies bacterial bio-inputs is a promising strategy for sustainable crop production over the use of single-species inoculants. Studies of the use of multispecies bio-inputs in horticultural crops are scarce, not only on the growth-promoting effects of each bacterium within the formulation, but also on their compatibility and persistence in the root environment. In this work, we described that a multispecies bacterial bio-input made up of Azospirillum argentinense Az39, Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus PAL-5, Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 and Bacillus sp. Dm-B10 improved lettuce plant growth more effectively than when these strains were inoculated as single-species bio-inputs. Bacteria persisted together (were compatible) and also colonized seedling roots of lettuce plants grown in controlled conditions. Interestingly, colonization was highly related to an early and enhanced growth of seedlings grown in the nursery. A similar effect on plant growth was found in lettuce plants in a commercial greenhouse production in the peri-urban area of La Plata City, Buenos Aires, Argentina. To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating that a synthetic mixture of bacteria can colonize and persist on lettuce plants, and also showing their synergistic beneficial effect both in the nursery greenhouse as well as the commercial production farm.

Understanding the physiological, genetic and molecular basis of nitrogen deficiency tolerance and their application in rice improvement

Nitrogen (N) is a major nutrient required for growth and yield of rice plants. Several factors including plant, edapic and climate conditions influence the criticle yield response curve of the plants. Apart from breeding for N responsive rice varieties, excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers have become a general farmers practice to boost rice productivity under intensive cropping system. Now, it is imperative to orient the crop improvement programme for sustainable crop production strategy as well as to achieve the evergreen revolution through improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) under global climate change condition. To develop N-efficient rice varieties under crop breeding programs, it is crucial to comprehend the physiological, genetic and molecular features associated with tolerance to nitrogen deprivation. It has always been challenging for a rice breeders to develop rice varieties with high nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), as it is highly complex physiological trait involving several component traits and its dynamic interaction with environemental factor. NUE is a polygenic traits controlled by number of quantitative trait loci's at genomic level. Till date, researchers targeted component traits for increasing NUE such as, nitrogen uptake/absorption, transport from root to shoot, assimilation, utilisation, remobilisation, reasssssmilation and partitioning /redistribution. Here, we described a short summary of the physiological, genetic and molecular underpinnings of nitrogen deficit tolerance and how these prior art information can be used for improving NUE in rice. Insight from our discussions may facilitate the breeders to improve the NUE of rice plants in future.

An integrated multi-criteria decision-making framework under uncertainty for evaluating sustainable hydrogen production strategies based on renewable energies in Iran.

Due to population growth and the expansion of different industries, Iran is confronted with the issue of energy and hydrogen generation for various sectors. According to research, Iran has much potential for renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Renewable energy is critical for meeting the needs of various industries by producing energy and hydrogen. As a result, this study identified and analyzed development plans for hydrogen production from Iran's renewable energies using SWOT analysis and multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. The Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) approach was used to weigh the criteria and sub-criteria, and power generation cost was identified as the most critical sub-criteria. Then, the identified strategies were ranked using the gray additive ratio assessment (ARAS-Gray) method. Following that, the gray technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS-G), the gray complex proportional assessment (COPRAS-G), and the gray simple additive weighting (SAW-G) techniques were used to validate the results. The finding revealed that the strategy of cooperation and coordination between energy investing companies and various industries in Iran to develop hydrogen projects at a minimum cost was recognized as the most efficient strategy in all procedures. As a result, with the cooperation and coordination of companies and various industries in Iran, clean energy and fuel can be produced at a low cost using renewable sources. By implementing this strategy, the fluctuations in energy production caused by renewable sources will be eliminated, and the energy and hydrogen requirements of various industries will be met.

Developing a tactical nitrogen fertilizer management strategy for sustainable wheat production

Syncronizing plant available water with soil nitrogen (N) remains a critical aspect of agronomic management to enhance crop yield, grain quality, farmers’ profit, and environmental sustainability. Their interaction is essential expecially in landscapes characterized by a highly spatial and temporal range of pedoclimatic conditions. To support farmers in making more informed decisions, validate dynamic process based crop simulation models have been successfully used to optimize N fertlization. In this study, we aimed to develop a tactical N fertilizer management strategy to increase profitability, improve grain quality and reduce N losses. The SALUS model was tested against measured durum wheat grain yield and grain quality data collected across independent farmers’ fields in Tuscany (Italy). The model was then used to optimize N fertilization under different potential plant extractable soil water (PESW) conditions at the second topdressing N fertilization timing. The model was tested against measurements of grain yield and protein concentration at harvest, as well as phenological stage, biomass, and plant N content during the growing season. Simulations were carried out for 30 years of available weather, using different N rates. The simulations allowed the identification of optimal N rates for each PESW condition and soil type concerning economic and environmental sustainability. Results showed higher yield and higher leaching for the silty clay soil (Quercia; QUE) than for the loamy soil (Arbia; ARB). No major differences were predicted for protein content across soils. Profitability and emissions increased as N rate increased. The N fertilization strategy locally adopted by farmers was also analyzed across different PESW conditions at 2nd topdressing fertilization in comparison to other adopted N management strategies (timing of application and fertilization rates). The model showed that the conventional fertilization strategy does not maximize socio-ecological benefits, but was also the lowest among all the strategies tested. The maximum economic benefit for farmers was reached by applying 90 kg N at 1st and 60 kg N at 2nd topdressing fertilization, both in dry (due to sufficient soil water storage in the soil) and wet years. These results provide valuable insights for developing strategies that balance sustainability, resilience, quality, and profitability in wheat crop production in central Italy.

Regulating isomerization of gasoline-alkanes in aqueous-phase hydrodeoxygenation of sorbitol using regenerable Ni@MoOx catalysts

Aqueous-phase hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) has been regarded as an efficient biorefinery strategy for sustainable production of gasoline-alkanes from bio-polyols. However, current research focuses mainly on exploiting noble-metal HDO catalysts to acquire straight-chain C5-C6 alkanes. Herein, the aqueous-phase HDO route was firstly proposed to regulate isomerization of gasoline-alkanes in the sorbitol hydrogenolysis utilizing non-noble Mo-based catalysts in a continuous-flow fixed-bed reactor. The selective reduction removal of hydroxyl groups and isomerization of carbon chains were strongly coupled together for boosting the octane value of gasoline-alkanes over the regenerable Ni@MoOx binary catalysts derived from NiMoO4 spinel. Further characterization studies revealed that the synergism of Ni0 and MoOx played a crucial role in regulating selective dissociation of CO bonds and rearrangement of CC bonds, and suppressing excessive cleavage of CC bonds toward C1-C4 alkanes and CO/CO2. The effects of reaction parameters including reaction temperature, H2-pressure and reduction temperature were also evaluated for manipulating the product distribution between n-alkanes and isoalkanes. After optimization, a high C5-C6 yield of 87.5% with 51.7% of C5-C6 isoalkanes mainly including cycloalkanes was achieved at 280 °C under H2-pressure of 1.0 MPa over the Ni@MoOx catalyst reduced at 500 °C. This catalytic strategy could create new opportunities for producing high-quality biofuels from biomass-derived oxygenated compounds.

Strategies for sustainable and efficient crop production of soybean through integrated nutrient management: A Review

Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) involves the application of a combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers, biological agents, green manures, and other soil amendments to improve soil fertility, nutrient use efficiency, and crop productivity. This presents an overview of the importance of soybean as a source of protein and oil and its significance in sustainable agriculture. It discusses the nutrient requirements of soybean and the factors that affect nutrient availability and uptake. The paper highlights the potential benefits and challenges of using INM for soybean production and presents case studies and numerical examples of the impact of INM on soybean Growth, yield, and nutrient uptake.

Mycotoxins in Silage: Occurrence, Effects, and Management Strategies for Sustainable Livestock Production a Review

Mycotoxins in Silage: Occurrence, Effects, and Management Strategies for Sustainable Livestock Production a Review

Mycotoxins in Silage: Occurrence, Effects, and Management Strategies for Sustainable Livestock Production a Review

Mycotoxins in Silage: Occurrence, Effects, and Management Strategies for Sustainable Livestock Production a Review

Glutathione: a key frontier of heavy-metal detoxification and tolerance in plants

Heavy metal (HMs) toxicity is one of the major critical threats for agricultural plants production and global food security. In this current scenario, ecofriendly and hazardous free sustainable crop production strategies for detoxifying and tolerating HMs is imperative. This update study provides the impact of HMs on agricultural plants growth, physiology and yield. Further, this study explores the significance of glutathione (GSH) and phytochelatins (PCs), and series of candidate genes which showed potential role in HMs stress tolerance in diverse plant species. This update study encourages plant breeders or farmers for developing HMs stress tolerant plant production through breeding program. The overall study findings open new avenue of multiomics-assisted plant improvement, and it will help to phytoremediation, clean environment and smart agriculture for sustainable plant production.

Straw return cannot prevent soil potassium depletion in wheat fields of drylands

Potassium (K) is essential for improving crop yield and quality, but it has become a forgotten nutrient in intensive agricultural systems. Fertilizer application and straw management affect crop K uptake and soil K changes, but their effects and mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Three long-term site-fixed field experiments were conducted in K-rich soils to understand crop yield, plant K utilization, and soil K changes in response to N fertilizer rates, P fertilizer rates, and straw management in dryland winter wheat mono-cropping systems. Results showed that grain yield and grain K uptake increased by 28–43% and 17–28% at different N rates, increased by 38–64% and 35–80% at different P rates, but decreased by 17% and 16% with straw return, respectively. Grain K concentration decreased by 9–15% in applying N fertilizers, increased by 6–9% in applying P fertilizers, and showed no difference between control (straw removal) and straw return. Although straw was returned to the field in all three experiments, soil K depletion was observed with annual decline rate and deficit index of 0.8–1.8 mg kg yr−1 and 0.5–0.8 kg K t–1 for soil available K, and 9.7–16.9 mg kg yr−1 and 5.0–12.6 kg K t–1 for slowly available K, respectively. This means that straw return is insufficient to prevent soil K depletion, and supplying K fertilizer is needed. Farmer's survey findings showed that the mean K fertilizer rate in the experimental area was 31–34 kg K2O ha–1. The current K fertilizer rate could maintain an apparent K balance if all wheat straws were returned to the field, but here the straw-returning rate was only 20–25%. Improving the straw-returning rate and managing K fertilizer rationally will be a crucial strategy for sustainable wheat production.

Surface Coating of Amorphous TiOx Enables Efficient Vapor-fed Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting with Substantial Apparent Quantum Yield.

Photocatalytic overall water splitting represents a promising strategy for sustainable hydrogen production. However, photocorrosion and dissolution of photocatalysts and cocatalysts are common concern for the solid-liquid phase reaction. Recently, the above issues could be addressed by Domen and coworkers, when the photocatalytic water splitting was conducted in the presence of water vapor, which dramatically restrain the undesired corrosion of the photocatalysts and cocatalysts. Besides, surface decoration of hygroscopic TiOx layer promotes adsorption of water molecules and prevents the corrosion process. In addition, vapor-fed photocatalytic water splitting remains considerable apparent quantum yield compared with the liquid water photocatalytic overall water splitting at pressurized condition, which endows great potential in practical application.

Application strategy for sustainable livestock production with farm animal algorithms in response to climate change up to 2050: A review

Global warming caused by climate change can increase heat stress and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, leading to food problems and livestock crises. Thus, pre-emptive responses are required to mitigate the food problems and livestock crises. The potential of a livestock crisis caused by global warming highlights the need for sustainable livestock production in response to climate change using a farm animal algorithm in order to address the population increase and avoid food problems in the future. In particular, the demand for animal-based foods has increased. Such a climate change threatens the livestock environment, production, reproductive efficiency, animal behaviour and welfare, while increasing the heat stress, livestock malodours, and GHG emissions. For these reasons, it is necessary to understand the concurrent mechanisms related to these effects of global warming, animal nutrition, animal feeding and management, animal heat stress and in ovo injection, and carbon neutral livestock. Climate-smart livestock systems are being implemented to overcome the livestock crisis caused by climate change and to maintain sustainable livestock production. This review emphasises the importance of sustainable livestock production using farm animal algorithms in response to a future livestock crisis caused by climate change in 2050.

Assessment of Genetic Diversity and Conservation in South African Indigenous Goat Ecotypes: A Review.

Goats were amongst the first livestock to be domesticated more than 10,000 years ago for their meat, milk, skin, and fiber. They were introduced to Southern Africa by migrating nations from Central Africa to the south. Due to local adaptation to the different agro-ecological zones and selection, indigenous goats are identified as ecotypes within the indigenous veld goat breed. Their ability to thrive in a resource-limited production system and in challenging environmental conditions makes them valuable animal resources for small-scale and emerging farmers. They play important roles in household agriculture and cultural activities as well as in poverty alleviation. Studies have described the phenotypic and genetic variations in indigenous goats, targeting the major goat-producing regions and the breeds of South Africa. In turn, information is restricted to certain breeds and regions, and the experimental design is often not adequate to inform the conservation status and priorities in changing environments. Advances in genomics technologies have availed more opportunities for the assessment of the biodiversity, demographic histories, and detection regions associated with local adaptation. These technologies are essential for breeding and conservation strategies for sustainable production for food security. This review focuses on the status of indigenous goats in South Africa and the application of genomics technologies for characterization, with emphasis on prioritization for conservation and sustainable utilization.

Optimal nitrogen rate strategy for sustainable rice production in China

Optimal nitrogen rate strategy for sustainable rice production in China

Optimal nitrogen rate strategy for sustainable rice production in China

Optimal nitrogen rate strategy for sustainable rice production in China

Optimal nitrogen rate strategy for sustainable rice production in China

Optimal nitrogen rate strategy for sustainable rice production in China