Summer Crops Research Articles

Assessment of drought tolerance of sesame germplasm with agronomic and quality traits

AbstractSesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a summer crop and its production is threatened by drought stress (WS) due to increased aridity and higher temperature worldwide. Breeding sesame accessions that are more tolerant to WS is therefore highly important for sustainable seed production. Here, 21 accessions representing 12 sesame‐growing countries were evaluated with yield and quality traits under two different water‐regime treatments as non‐stressed (NS) and WS. The combined analysis of variance revealed that there was a significant variation among the accessions for all agronomic traits. We also found that the effects of treatment and genotype were significant for the quality traits of oil content, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, and linolenic acid. The t‐test of significance for mean values indicated that there were significant differences between the treatments for plant height, number of branches, number of capsules, and seed yield. The highest yield was found in PI 170735 with the value of 25.6 g/plant in the treatment of WS. The higher values were observed for oil content in NS treatment, the highest amount of oil content was recorded as 53.9% for PI 207664. In addition, higher grand mean was observed for oleic acid under WS treatment. Principal component analysis using the five agronomic traits indicated that 76.60% and 71.18% variability accounted for the first two principal components (PCs) with eigen values ≥ 1 in WS and NS treatments, respectively. The diverse accessions characterized with agro‐quality traits can be used in further improvement programs to develop new drought‐tolerant cultivars.

The evolution of open biomass burning during summer crop harvest in the North China Plain

Open biomass burning (OBB) negatively impacts air quality by discharging abundant fine particulate matter (PM2.5, aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm) and trace gases. The statistical methods and numerical simulations have been used to estimate emissions from OBB. The former is poor in producing reliable distributions and transport of emissions, while studies with the latter have focused on cases analysis over short periods. This study investigates the multi-year evaluation of OBB and its contribution to PM2.5 and black carbon (BC) based on satellite observations and numerical modeling over the North China Plain. The number of fires increased by 206% from 2008 to 2012, and decreased by 84% from 2012 to 2016, indicating that the implementation of straw burning ban policy had achieved significant positive effects. The simulation from Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry showed that the surface concentrations of PM2.5 and BC emitted by OBB in the burning source area increased from 22 and 3.22 μg/m3, respectively, in 2008 to 45.77 and 6.47 μg/m3, respectively, in 2012, and then decreased to 1.41 and 0.22 μg/m3, respectively, in 2016. The differentiated impacts on air quality of policies across provinces are also investigated. Open crop straw burning was banned early in Shandong and Henan provinces, but they suffer from poor air quality due to open straw burning until the effective straw burning ban in Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, which suggests the need for interregional collaboration for pollution control.

Environmental fate of chlorpyrifos in Rhodic Ferralsol grown with corn during summer and winter seasons under high-intensity rainfall

The interactions between pesticides' physicochemical properties and edaphoclimatic factors influence their distribution into the environment. Understanding how those factors interact in a changing environment is crucial for mitigating environmental and agronomic problems. Thus, a percolation lysimeter with undisturbed soil and suction lysimeters were used to conduct a field study to evaluate the distribution of chlorpyrifos sprayed in a corn crop cultivated in a Rhodic Ferralsol in simulated extreme rainfall conditions. The mobility of chlorpyrifos was evaluated under simulated precipitation (150 mm h−1), 24 h and 48 h after applying the chlorpyrifos in different phenological stages of corn during the summer and winter crops in two agricultural years. In addition, GC-ECD determined the residual concentration of chlorpyrifos in the runoff and leached samples. Finally, a laboratory adsorption study was conducted with Rhodic Ferralsol to find the chlorpyrifos adsorption capacity in different temperatures, with and without soil organic matter. Our results show that soil organic matter is essential in chlorpyrifos adsorption, responsible for approximately 5% pesticide retention, which could be 25% higher during winter. High-intensity rainfalls positively affect runoff and leaching; nevertheless, these are responsible for only 0.2% of all chlorpyrifos amounts, as the soil is the major reservoir of chlorpyrifos by retention into clays and organic matter. Furthermore, the corn growth stages directly affect chlorpyrifos transportation, with higher amounts observed in runoff and leaching during the first and last corn growth stages. Therefore, in the conditions such as high-intensity rainfall, exposed soil, shallow soil profile, and temperatures below 20 °C, attention should be paid to chlorpyrifos spray with special regard to the weather forecast, avoiding its spray near rainfall events. Further studies should be conducted in other soil classes and rainfall conditions to validate our observations.

Winter Survivability and Subsequent Performance of Fall-Planted Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) in Mid-Central Virginia

Winter cropping can be used to achieve a double benefit for producers: as soil cover and an additional economic crop cycle. Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is a spring crop growing in the northern region of the US and used as a fall cover crop in some southern states. In this study, eight seed-type flax varieties were evaluated for production as a fall/winter crop for the Commonwealth of Virginia, a mid-latitude region. Mixed results were obtained; however, the crop showed winter tolerance and potential productivity, especially when the frequency of sub-zero winter temperatures was low. Planting too early in the fall allows for significant stem development that increases susceptibility to physical damage by snowstorms and winter frost. Seed yield was low compared to spring-planted crops; however, it reached up to 400 kg ha−1 in some varieties. Seed weights were comparable to those found elsewhere for the same or other varieties, and seed protein and crude fat content ranged from 228–270 and 189–234 g kg−1, respectively. Across years and varieties, P, K, Mg, Ca, and S averaged 7.74, 9.88, 3.88, 2.86, and 2.35 g kg−1, respectively. Mineral elements Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, and B averaged 95, 62, 21, and 10 mg kg−1, respectively. However, early maturity in spring ahead of other grains subjected it to significant losses to wild birds. Fall-planted flax has potential as a cover crop and may be harvested for seed, which in addition to a summer crop, provides a producer with economic returns from two crop cycles per year.

The Spatial Relationships of the Qualitative Composition of Livestock and the Production Structure of Forage Crops in Thi Qar Governorate

The research titled "Spatial Relationships of the Qualitative Composition of Livestock and Production Structure of Forage Crops in Dhi Qar Governorate" aims to explore the spatial connections between livestock population by type and the characteristics of forage crops, including type and area. The study seeks to highlight the geographical distribution of these elements, enabling policymakers and stakeholders in animal production to develop strategic plans for the advancement of this crucial sector. By identifying the focal areas of livestock concentration and utilizing the key factor of nutrition, which is forage, feasible economic plans can be formulated to establish projects based on their products. The research is structured into three main axes. The first axis investigates the qualitative composition of livestock in Dhi Qar Governorate. The findings reveal that the province possesses five main types of livestock, with sheep constituting the majority. The second axis focuses on analyzing the production structure of forage crops, considering both summer and winter seasons. The study identifies four types of crops cultivated in winter and five types cultivated in summer. Administrative units exhibit varying degrees of control over these crops, with six units dominating winter crops and five units dominating summer crops out of a total of seventeen administrative units in the province. The third axis explores the correlation relationships, showing a stronger connection between the crops cultivated in the summer season compared to those in the winter season. These three axes yield several significant results. Notably, five administrative units hold dominance over 62.2% of the total livestock population, predominantly situated in the northeastern, central, and eastern parts of the study area. Sheep comprise 64.9% of the total livestock population. In terms of forage crops, six units control 78.87% of winter crops, while five units control 78.93% of summer crops. The correlation relationship with the winter season for forage crops is weaker compared to the summer season.

Effect of Integrated Nutrients Management Practices on Growth Parameters of Pointed Gourd (Trichosanthes dioica)

Introduction and Aim: Pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica Roxb) is one of the most profitable and nutrient-rich summer crops. The present investigation entitled “Effect of Integrated Nutrients Management Practices on Growth and Yield of Pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica) cv. Papdi & Rudra’’ was carried and conducted at open field condition located at Horticulture Research Centre (HRC), at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Meerut U.P India during Kharif season of 2022-2023. Methods: The experiment was carried out in randomized block design keeping two varieties i.e. Papdi and Rudra with three replications. The experimental trial consists 10 different treatment. Discussion and Conclusion: All the treatments showed significant differences for most of the traits under study, the combination of T9 (Vermicompost @ 10 ton /hac + Jivamrit @8% Spray) followed by the treatment T10 (F.Y.M @ 15 ton/ha + Jivamrita @ 8% sprays) was best suited for the growth attributes of pointed gourd.: Hence, the above treatment can be suggested as a combination for getting higher growth of pointed gourd.

Targeted irrigation expands scope for winter cereal production in water-limited areas of California's San Joaquin Valley

CONTEXTEfforts to achieve groundwater sustainability in California's San Joaquin Valley will entail substantial pumping reductions, and much irrigated cropland may become newly fallowed. Winter crops grown under water-limited conditions could offer an alternative to fallowing, but their viability may be limited by variable rainfall and high crop failure rates. OBJECTIVEThe first objective of this study was to evaluate how small (100–200 mm), targeted irrigation events impact crop establishment, forage and grain yields, and the resulting economic and agronomic water productivity of winter wheat at 4 sites in the San Joaquin Valley. Additionally, we assessed the probability of producing economically viable forage yields across the region based on historical precipitation totals combined with 0, 100, or 200 mm of supplemental irrigation. METHODSWe used APSIM to run 20-yr simulations of winter wheat establishment and productivity under historical weather conditions at four groundwater dependent sites in California's San Joaquin Valley. For each site, we simulated wheat productivity (biomass and grain) under three irrigation scenarios (no irrigation, 100 mm, or 200 mm) and three sowing dates (mid-October, mid-November, and mid-December). We applied model outputs to calculations of economic and agronomic water productivity, and used the modeled relationship between soft dough biomass yield and total water input (precipitation plus irrigation) to determine the likelihood of a successful wheat crop in any given year across the region. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSWe found that two 100 mm applications of irrigation applied at times of critical soil water depletion decreased crop failure rates from 45% of years to 0% of years at the driest site. Economic water productivity was highest when wheat was harvested for forage at the soft dough stage, and agronomic water productivity of soft dough forage was highest with supplemental irrigation and early planting. Given the precipitation requirements to achieve economically viable soft dough-stage forage yields, the addition of 100 mm of irrigation in a single event expanded the potential cropping area to 11% (126,356 ha) of groundwater dependent cropland in the region, while 200 mm of irrigation expanded the potential cropping area to 100% (1,109,888 ha) of cropland. SIGNIFICANCEThese results suggest that small, targeted supplemental irrigation events could greatly expand the scope for water-limited winter forage production in the San Joaquin Valley. Such an approach could serve as an alternative to land fallowing in areas transitioning away from irrigated summer crops where appropriate technological and policy mechanisms are in place.

Summer crop rotational effects on carinata nitrogen management in the southeastern USA

AbstractGrowers in the United States (US) southeast are often recommended to reduce nitrogen (N) fertilization after peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) by cooperative Extension services. However, these guidelines are not supported by the scientific literature. An experiment was conducted to quantify N contributions from peanut residues to a subsequent carinata (Brassica carinata) crop. A 3 (history: cotton [Gossypium hirsutum L.], peanut, fallow) × 5 (N rates: 0, 34, 67, 101,134 kg N ha−1) factorial randomized complete block split‐plot design was conducted over four site‐years during the 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 seasons at Jay, FL, USA. Peanut and cotton were planted under strip tillage, whereas carinata was drilled into peanut and cotton residues and weed‐free fallow plots. Although peanut residues accumulated 54–78 kg N ha−1, inorganic N content behind former peanut plots at the 0–15 cm depths, ranged from 6 to 8 and 8 to 11 kg N ha−1 in 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 season, respectively. Cropping history differences for carinata normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were pronounced at lower N rates in one out of four site‐years during which NDVI behind former cotton plots was lower than former peanut and fallow plots. Carinata seed yield behind former peanut plots was similar to unfertilized fallow based on four site‐years of data. Nonlinear regression models predicted that N rates required to optimize carinata seed yield following peanut would exceed 134 kg N ha−1 thereby indicating negligible peanut N credits. These results support a growing body of literature that suggests minimal N credits after peanut under humid southeastern US conditions.

Crop diversification and digestate application effect on the productivity and efficiency of irrigated winter crop systems

Irrigated winter crops can reduce input demands when compared with irrigated summer cropping systems in the Mediterranean area. The sustainability of these systems can be further improved resorting to diverse rotations, but also to fertilisation with digestate, a by-product from anaerobic digestion of organic waste. Post-treatments such as drying and acidifying can improve the fertiliser value of this product. In this study, we compare wheat performance in a three-year full cereal rotation or in a diverse rotation, with pea and canola. Besides, untreated and dried acidified digestates are tested as fertilisers for all crops, comparing to mineral fertilisation at a rate of 140 kg N ha−1 and a control with no fertilisation. To assess productivity and efficiency of the different systems, grain yield and N concentration, N uptake efficiency (NUpE) and water use efficiency (WUE) were determined, along with soil nitrate dynamics and total N at the end of the experiment. Results showed an average wheat yield increase of 1.79 t ha−1 by the last year of the diverse crop rotation rather than the cereal rotation (p < 0.001). Although there was no yield increase in the previous year, wheat after pea showed higher grain N concentration (p < 0.001). However, the NUpE of wheat remained steady due to a higher soil N availability after pea, which suggests that fertilisation can be adjusted. Although wheat WUE increased due to canola and pea precedents (p < 0.001), the cereal rotations should be more adapted to systems with low water availability. Nonetheless, both rotations required about 30% of irrigated water than the typical irrigated summer crops of the Ebro valley region. Fertiliser effect on yields was variable according to the tested crop mainly due to differences in N demand along each growing cycle. Overall, dried acidified digestate application resulted in similar soil nitrate levels than the mineral fertiliser. The diverse rotation raised soil nitrates content compared to the cereal rotation at sowing and harvesting times (p = 0.002 and p < 0.001, respectively). Higher soil nitrate levels were found when associating these two practices, while nitrate levels after mineral fertilisation showed to be less dependent on the implemented rotation. The diverse rotation also raised soil total N at the end of the experiment (p = 0.023). Similarly, the dried acidified digestate application resulted in higher soil total N than mineral fertilisation (p = 0.011). These findings show how these management practices should allow for a chemical fertilisation reduction in irrigated winter crop systems.

Slope and pig slurry rate may increase the transfer of chemical elements by surface water runoff

AbstractThere is a need to evaluate the interference of pig slurry rate and the terrain slope in the chemical elements losses from the soil. This work aimed to quantify water and chemical element losses by surface runoff due to terrain slope and pig slurry rate (PS) in two soils with contrasting textures. Two trials were evaluated in 2018 and 2019 in Cambisol and Nitisol. Rates of 0, 22.5, 45, and 90 m3 ha−1 yr−1 of PS were applied superficially in sites with slopes ranging from 10% to 35%. Perennial forage grass Tifton 85 (Cynodon dactylon) was grown as summer crop and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) was sown in the cold seasons in a field environment. Were determined the runoff, the volume of water, and chemical elements (Al, Ca, P, Mg, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Fe, Pb, and Zn) lost by the surface runoff after natural rainfall. Increasing land slope elevated water losses substantially, on average 23.4 times in Cambisol and 10.8 times in Nitisol. This increase resulted in average increases of 27.6 and 12.4 times in the losses of the chemical elements analyzed for Cambisol and Nitisol, respectively. There was a reduction in water losses by surface runoff due to increased PS rates applied in both sites. The increased PS rate affected the losses of Cr and Cu in Cambisol and P, Mg, Cd, and Cu in Nitisol. The clayey soil potentiated the water and chemical elements losses by surface runoff in relation to the soil with lower clay content. Regardless of the soil, water and chemical element losses are maximized at higher slopes.

The Contribution of Agronomic Management to Sustainably Intensify Egypt’s Wheat Production

In Egypt, recent shortfalls in the wheat supply from Russia and Ukraine have necessitated substantial increases in domestic production. As agricultural practices influence the yield of bread wheat, we assessed current production strategies in the wheat-based systems of Egypt and investigated their effects on wheat productivity in four study areas in the Nile Delta. We used a multi-stage random sampling technique to select 246 wheat-producing farmers and applied structured questionnaires to assess farming practices and crop performance attributes. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, analysis of variances, and multiple regression models. Wheat farmers were on average 56 years old with about 30 years of farming experience. Land holdings were rather small, with an average of 1.05 hectares and a mean wheat yield of 6.4 metric tons (t)/hectare (ha). Farmers devote &lt;20% of their cropland area to wheat. Of the large observed variation in wheat yield (4.2–8.5 t/ha), 59% was explained by differences in applied cropping practices in the multiple regression model. The application of mineral fertilizers was mostly inappropriate and unbalanced, with an overuse of nitrogen and phosphorus, the complete absence of potassium and micronutrient fertilizers, and insufficient rates of applied organic amendments. The type of the preceding summer crop and the irrigation frequency were found to be the most influencing factors, explaining 7.5% and 38% of the variation in wheat yields. The majority of farmers with low wheat yields irrigated their crops twice per season, while only 7% of high-yielding farmers applied the recommended irrigation frequency of &gt;5 times per season. Most farmers had poor knowledge of modern agronomic practices and inadequate access to information. To enhance domestic production in Egypt, there is a need for fiscal incentives, permitting or stimulating wheat-producing farmers to devote larger shares of their cropland to wheat cultivation. In addition, policies must enable wheat producers to improve their productivity by implementing adequate and sustainable agricultural practices such as crop rotations, balanced mineral nutrient supply, and the use of organic amendments. However, the most important factors are interventions and technologies that improve provision and increase the use efficiency of irrigation water.

Community-Based Approach for Agricultural Water Management of Summer Crops

Globalization, population change, and rural-to-urban movement are the main causes of the enormous issues faced by rural communities. Every growing nation, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), has a sizable proportion of rural farmers among its populace. This study was done in the Sulaimani Governorate, which was divided into six main districts namely; Garmian, Penjwin, Halabja, Chamchamal, Sharazur, and Raniya, and aimed to compare the groundwater level with summer crop water demand. The weighted Sum Method (WSM) and a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index map (NDVI) were used to analyze and illustrate the current water demand status for summer crops. The study employed a participatory research design, utilizing a purposive sampling method to select 60 representative farmers, 25 key decision-makers, representatives from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and experts in the field of water management. Data was collected through the use of focus group discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) to gather information from the selected participants. This study is innovative in its attempt to establish a correlation between the yield of summer crops and the availability of groundwater. As a conclusion for this study, the results suggest that the level of groundwater plays a significant role in determining the production of summer crops. Additionally, the sustainable development of various regions within the Sulaimani Governorate is influenced by a complex interplay of environmental, economic, and social factors. Future work will be focus on doing a detail research regarding time series for ground water level (GWL) vs. crop production vs. NDVI.

Double-cropping effects of Brassica carinata and summer crops: II. Effects of winter cropping history on subsequent summer crop production

There is an opportunity for crop farmers in the Southeast United States (SE US) to increase income by producing carinata during the winter following summer crop production. However, a major limitation to the use of carinata as a winter annual in the SE US is the lack of information on double-cropping with summer commodity crops common to the region. Considering that integrating carinata into cropping systems common to the region could impact productivity of those systems, it is critical to quantify the potential effects of carinata on existing cropping systems. To this end, a study was conducted in Jay, Florida for three years to evaluate the effects of winter cropping history (carinata vs. fallow) on the productivity of subsequent summer crops including cotton, peanut, sorghum, and soybean. Treatments (winter carinata vs. winter fallow) were laid out in a randomized complete block design with eight replications. Data were collected on infiltration; plant population; plant canopy height; aboveground biomass; and yield. Infiltration rates, determined within a week of carinata harvest, were affected by winter cropping history, being greater in former carinata plots than former fallow plots. Carinata harvest coincided with the timely planting of cotton and peanut which resulted in these summer crops being sown three to four weeks later than their typical sowing window for the SE US. Winter cropping history (including the winter fallow control) did not influence commodity crop (cotton, peanut, sorghum, and soybean) yields when all summer crops were planted at the same time, as in a double-crop scenario. Regarding the combined productivity of winter (carinata vs. winter fallow) and summer crops, carinata-cotton, carinata-peanut, carinata-sorghum, and carinata-soybean systems were necessarily more productive than their winter fallow counterparts due to no crop production in the fallow during the winter cropping years. Overall, results from this study showed that carinata can successfully replace winter fallow, and can be double-cropped with summer-planted sorghum and soybean with no adverse effect on yield. Double-cropping carinata caused a delay in timely planting of cotton and peanut, and represents a limitation that may hinder its adoption in the SE US until such time a faster-maturing carinata cultivar can be developed.

Identifying research priorities through decision analysis: A case study for cover crops

IntroductionIn Midwestern maize (Zea-mays L.)-based systems, planting an over-wintering cover crop such as rye (Secale cereale L.) following fall harvests of summer crops maintains continuous soil cover, offering numerous environmental advantages. However, while adoption of cover crops has increased over the past decade, on a landscape-scale it remains low. Identifying where agronomic research could be most impactful in increasing adoption is therefore a useful exercise. Decision analysis (DA) is a tool for clarifying decision trade-offs, quantifying risk, and identifying optimal decisions. Several fields regularly utilize DA frameworks including the military, industrial engineering, business strategy, and economics, but it is not yet widely applied in agriculture.MethodsHere we apply DA to a maize-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation using publicly available weather, management, and economic data from central Iowa.ResultsIn this region, planting a cover crop following maize (preceding soybean) poses less risk to the producer compared to planting following soybean, meaning it may be a more palatable entry point for producers. Furthermore, the risk of reduced maize yields when planting less than 14 days following rye termination substantially contributes to the overall risk cover crops pose to producers, but also has significant potential to be addressed through agronomic research.DiscussionIn addition to identifying research priorities, DA provided clarity to a complex problem, was performed using publicly available data, and by incorporating risk it better estimated true costs to the producer compared to using input costs alone. We believe DA is a valuable and underutilized tool in agronomy and could aid in increasing adoption of cover crops in the Midwest.

Projected long-term climate trends reveal the critical role of vapor pressure deficit for soybean yields in the US Midwest

Extreme climate events including heat waves and droughts are projected to become more frequent under future climate change conditions. However, the mechanisms between soybean yields and climate factors, specifically involving variable rainfall and high heat episodes, are still unclear, particularly with respect to spatial trends in the United States (US) Midwest. A recently modified version of the model GLYCIM was used to evaluate rainfed soybean production across 12 states at a 10 km spatial resolution for three time periods (2011–2020, 2051–2060, 2091–2099) under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios 4.5 and 8.5. Results showed that except for the northernmost Midwest counties, most of the current rainfed cropping system in the Midwest would suffer a 24.6–47.4 % yield loss without considering the CO2 fertility effect. Incorporating the effect of elevated CO2 showed a smaller yield loss of 11.6–29.5 %. The increased frequency of extreme degree days (EDD) or accumulation of hourly temperatures above 30 °C associated with increased vapor pressure deficit (VPD) played a key role in contributing to water deficits and resultant crop losses under these future climate conditions. Although a relatively weak relationship between summer rainfall and crop yield was observed, decreased rainfall caused VPD to increase which induced crop water deficits. These findings suggest that it is crucial to consider VPD along with high temperature and low rainfall trends simultaneously for development of potential management or breeding-based adaptative strategies for soybean.

Rapid early-season maize mapping without crop labels

Maize (Zea mays), the second most-produced crop worldwide, serves as the cornerstone for global food security and human livelihood. Early-season maize mapping benefits maize production forecasting and other pre-harvest decision-making applications. However, most existing early-season mapping efforts rely heavily on either the current-year or historical crop labels to train classifiers, limiting the potential applications to new regions lacking crop labels. To explore the possibility of maize mapping only using satellite data in the early season, we proposed a Multi-temporal Gaussian Mixture Model (MGMM) to map maize planting areas without any crop labels. A chlorophyll content relevant proxy, named the Red-edge position (REP), was selected as model input, based on the truth that summer maize tends to show a higher chlorophyll content than other summer crops (e.g., soybean, cotton, peanut, sunflowers, etc.) in the peak season. The novel early-season mapping framework using the REP-based MGMM (MGMM-REP) was applied in four diverse areas (Iowa and Georgia in the US, Heilongjiang province (HLJ) in China, and Grand-Est in France). The MGMM-REP could generate maize maps more than two months before harvest with reasonable accuracy (F1 ≥ 77%) using all the available Sentinel-2 (S2) images and the Google Earth Engine platform (GEE). Our early-season maps agreed well with the existing crop maps and official statistics. The correlation coefficient (R) of the maize acreage between our early-season maps and statistics was higher than 0.94. The high inter-class difference of REP between maize and other summer crops could increase the F1 score by 2–47% compared to the other commonly used Vegetation indices (VIs). Since MGMM-REP does not rely on crop labels, it had the potential to be transferred to label-scarce maize-cropped regions and contribute to the international commodity trade and food security forecast.

The occurrence of a flagship raptor species in intensive agroecosystems is associated with more diverse farmland bird communities: Opportunities for market-based conservation

Traditional livestock systems have supported farmland biodiversity for millennia. However, modern intensive husbandry is challenging wildlife persistence in agroecosystems. We assessed the multiscale determinants of the species richness of breeding bird communities, as well as the occurrence of a flagship raptor species, the lesser kestrel Falco naumanni, in an intensive agroecosystem mostly dedicated to the production of the world-renowned Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. We relied on three avian community richness metrics reflecting a gradient of increasing association with farmed landscapes, i.e. the overall breeding bird species richness, the richness of farmland species, and the richness of ground-nesters (i.e. species that mostly breed within crops) and tested their association with the landscape, agricultural, and pedological variables as well as with lesser kestrel occurrence. We showed that environmental variables determining overall richer avian assemblages did not coincide with those shaping farmland and ground-nesting species richness, thus challenging the potential effectiveness of conservation actions. However, such actions could be optimized by taking into account different spatial scales affecting different species groups. Indeed, landscape heterogeneity, semi-natural/marginal habitats, and a moderate cover of build-up areas enhanced overall species richness at a small spatial scale. At a broader scale, landscape heterogeneity enhanced farmland species richness, whereas fragmentation determined by urbanization negatively affected ground-nesters. Avian community richness metrics were maximized at an intermediate cover of three prevailing crops (winter, summer, and hay crops), increasing when they co-occurred, i.e., in the presence of crop rotation. Lesser kestrel occurrence was associated with richer assemblages of ground-nesting species because this raptor and ground-nesters showed analogous ecological requirements. These findings suggest that the lesser kestrel can be regarded as an ideal flagship for market-based conservation initiatives (e.g., tailored to the production of biodiversity-friendly agri-food products) in intensive agroecosystems since actions aimed at improving the foraging habitats of the species are likely to benefit co-occurring farmland birds of conservation interest.

Linking Climate Change Awareness, Climate Change Perceptions and Subsequent Adaptation Options among Farmers

Several studies have reported farmers’ perceptions of climate change, but there is inadequate knowledge available on the farm households’ climate change awareness (CCA) in Pakistan. This study was undertaken to assess farmers’ CCA. For this purpose, the study collected the data from southern and central Punjab, Pakistan, through a purposively multistage random sampling technique. Binary logit and odds ratio were used to analyse the data. The analysis of the study shows that the majority of respondents were aware of climate change but had differing perceptions of climate change. This research showed that 70.8% of farmers are aware of climate change and reported their awareness level on winter and summer rainfall and temperature, the growing season length (GSL) of crops, the sea level rise, and the causes of climate changes and conceptual understanding of it while persistently denying climate change. However, many farmers did not perceive decreasing winter (48%) and summer (31.2%) precipitation, the majority of the farmers could not perceive in the GSL of summer (63.2%) and winter (64.4%) crops, while few did not notice increased winter (36.4%) and summer (33.6%) temperature, respectively. Financial and non-financial factors such as education (1.16), experience (1.07), distance to markets (1.07), non-agricultural income (2.83), access to agricultural credit (0.29) and marketing of produce (6.10), access to extension services (3.87) and the number of adaptation strategies (1.30) were pointedly related to farm households’ CCA. These odds values in the parenthesis show that the likelihood of CCA increases/decreases as these determinants increase. Moreover, the results of the study show that CCA is a significant predictor of adaptation to climate change. Main adaptation strategies opted for by farmers include changing crop variety and type, changing planting dates, tree plantation, increasing/changing fertilizer, soil and water conservation, off-farm income and diversification. Further, the study finds that some farmers did not perceive climate change as it takes time to be visible, but they are aware of climate change. Therefore, there is a need to reshape the households’ perception of climate change and enhance farmers’ CCA through existing extension services.

Corrigendum to: Evaluation of summer and winter cover crops for variations in host suitability for Meloidogyne incognita, M. arenaria and M. javanica, Nematology 24 (2022) 841-854 (DOI: 10.1163/15685411-bja10172)

"Corrigendum to: Evaluation of summer and winter cover crops for variations in host suitability for Meloidogyne incognita, M. arenaria and M. javanica, Nematology 24 (2022) 841-854 (DOI: 10.1163/15685411-bja10172)" published on 24 Feb 2023 by Brill.

Wheat stubble height effects on subsequent corn and grain sorghum crops

AbstractFor sustainable productivity, a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–summer crop (corn [Zea mays L.] or grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor L.])–fallow (W‐SC‐F) cropping system could benefit from optimal wheat stubble cutting height management, but only limited information is available. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of wheat stubble height on subsequent corn and grain sorghum yields, available soil water, crop water use, and precipitation storage efficiency in a W‐C‐F and W‐S‐F cropping system. This study was conducted from 2006 through 2020 at the Kansas State University Southwest Research‐Extension Center near Tribune, KS. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with three wheat stubble heights (high, low, and strip). Average across all years, there was a 9%–10% corn yield and 7%–11% corn biomass advantage from high and stripper harvested wheat stubble compared with low cut stubble, and a 5% sorghum yield advantage from high cut stubble compared with low cut stubble. Kernel weight of corn was the only yield component that significantly differed among stubble height treatments. Water productivity of corn in the high and stripper harvested stubble treatments (15.3 kg ha−1 mm−1) was significantly greater compared with the low cut stubble (14 kg ha−1 mm−1). Water productivity of sorghum in the high cut stubble treatment (18.9 kg ha−1 mm−1) was also significantly greater compared with low cut stubble (17.7 kg ha−1 mm−1). Total available soil water at planting (ASWP) and available soil water at harvest (ASWH) of corn were both greater for high cut stubble compared with stripper harvested stubble but total ASWP and ASWH of grain sorghum were not significantly different among stubble height treatments. We concluded that low cut wheat stubble decreased subsequent corn and grain sorghum yields in a W‐C/S‐F cropping system.