Article
Agronomy
Rafaelle Reumaux, Pierre Chopin, Goran Bergkvist, Christine A. Watson, Ingrid Oborn
Summary: A study in Sweden analyzed crop diversity and patterns in organic and conventional farming systems using large-scale field data. The results showed that organic farms had higher crop diversity, and the pre-crop type to winter wheat and spring barley varied between organic and conventional systems. This information can be used to optimize crop diversity and pre-crop effects for more resource-efficient crop production.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Ruixuan Xu, Haiming Zhao, Guibo Liu, Yuan Li, Shoujiao Li, Yingjun Zhang, Nan Liu, Lei Ma
Summary: In the North China Plain, intercropping alfalfa and silage maize with appropriate nitrogen input can achieve comprehensive performance in terms of productivity, environmental impact, and economic profit, making it an optimal alternative system.
AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Magdalena Rys, Malgorzata Miastkowska, Elzbieta Sikora, Anna Letocha, Agnieszka Krajewska, Agnieszka Synowiec
Summary: This study evaluated the use of peppermint essential oil nanoemulsion for weed control in maize, and the results showed that it was effective in selectively controlling barnyard grass growth. The nanoemulsion also exhibited inhibitory effects on the growth of maize.
Article
Environmental Studies
Chiranan Senanuch, Takuji W. Tsusaka, Avishek Datta, Nophea Sasaki
Summary: This study investigates the farm-level factors associated with land conversion from maize monocropping to the Hill Pond Rice System (HPRS) in selected northern provinces of Thailand. The findings suggest that factors such as education, farming knowledge, understanding benefits of the HPRS, access to water sources, access to advisory services, and workforce sharing increase the likelihood and extent of farmland conversion into the HPRS. On the other hand, perceived complexity of the HPRS, experiences with negative shocks, and land tenure security decrease the likelihood and extent of land conversion.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Stefan Fenz, Thomas Neubauer, Juergen Kurt Friedel, Marie-Luise Wohlmuth
Summary: Crop rotation planning is the process of determining the types and order of plants in agricultural areas to improve soil quality, crop yield, and pest/weed resistance. This study trained a reinforcement learning agent using literature and NDVI measurements to generate realistic and practical crop rotation sequences based on crop-specific attributes.
COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS IN AGRICULTURE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Adel Pordel, Sebastien Ravel, Florian Charriat, Pierre Gladieux, Sandrine Cros-Arteil, Joelle Milazzo, Henri Adreit, Mohammad Javan-Nikkhah, Amir Mirzadi-Gohari, Ali Moumeni, Didier Tharreau
Summary: Blast disease is a notorious fungal disease causing dramatic yield losses on major food crops like rice and wheat. The emergence of blast disease on maize in Iran, as well as epidemics on barnyard grass, raises concerns about potential yield losses and geographic expansion of the disease. Phylogenetic analyses indicate independent host-range expansion events from barnyard grass to maize.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Claudia Damatirca, Barbara Moretti, Chiara Bertora, Andrea Ferrarini, Cristina Lerda, Ilaria Mania, Luisella Celi, Roberta Gorra, Laura Zavattaro
Summary: Residue incorporation and organic fertilisation are recommended to increase soil organic matter content. However, the positive effect of crop residue on soil organic matter is often considered low, thus requiring a deeper understanding of their management.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Fei Han, Shuqing Guo, Muhammad Asad Naseer, Ru Guo, Tie Cai, Peng Zhang, Zhikuan Jia, Dong Yang, XiaoLi Chen, Xiaolong Ren
Summary: This study proposes a maize-peanut intercropping system to increase economic benefits and decrease environmental pollution in dryland farming. The system promotes efficient use of nitrogen, reduces N2O emissions, and improves economic income. Rotation of planting strips and proper reduction of nitrogen in maize planting have positive effects on system performance.
Article
Agronomy
Muhammad Imran Ghani, Ahmad Ali, Muhammad Jawaad Atif, Shamina Imran Pathan, Giacomo Pietramellara, Muhammad Ali, Bakht Amin, Zhihui Cheng
Summary: This study evaluated the role of crop rotation with different winter leafy vegetables in improving soil conditions and reducing disease-causing pathogens in eggplant production under plastic tunnels. The results showed that crop rotation significantly improved soil organic carbon and chemical properties, as well as the abundance of beneficial microbes. Pathogens such as Fusarium and Ascomycota were reduced while beneficial taxa like Mortierella and Bacillus increased. These findings highlight the importance of crop rotation for sustainable vegetable production.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jean Louis Ebongue Kedieng Fendji, Clovis Tchuinte Kenmogne, David Jaures Fotsa-Mbogne, Anna Foerster
Summary: The search for sustainable agriculture is leading economies to shift to crop rotation systems, abandoning monoculture systems. The optimization of crop rotation, especially in organic farming, remains a challenge. This study uses linear programming to optimize crop rotation in traditional organic farms, maximizing farmers' income by combining biophysical, structural, and organizational constraints for realistic rotations.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Subrata Koiry, Wei Huang
Summary: This study emphasizes the importance of ecological protection approaches in achieving sustainable productivity growth in agriculture. The results show that ecological protection methods such as organic farming and mixed cropping can hinder total factor productivity growth. Therefore, policies on compensation or insurance against productivity loss are required to encourage widespread adoption of ecological protection approaches among farmers.
ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Fei Han, Shuqing Guo, Song Wei, Ru Guo, Tie Cai, Peng Zhang, Zhikuan Jia, Sadam Hussain, Talha Javed, XiaoLi Chen, Xiaolong Ren, Mohammad Khalid Al-Sadoon, Piotr Stepien
Summary: Improving cropping systems and agronomic practices can maintain dry farming productivity and reduce water competition. Intercropping maize and peanut showed varied responses in photosynthetic processes and yields, with rotation-intercropping showing better land use efficiency compared to sole intercropping. Reductions in nitrogen inputs had differing effects on the photosynthetic characteristics and yields of intercropped crops.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Yonglei Jiang, Ruqiang Zhang, Cuiping Zhang, Jiaen Su, Wen-Feng Cong, Xiaopeng Deng
Summary: Organic fertilizer is effective in improving soil quality and promoting crop growth. The combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers has been proven to be a favorable way to increase tobacco yield and quality. This study explores the mechanisms underlying tobacco yield and quality under different combinations of organic and inorganic fertilizers. The results showed that the addition of organic fertilizer increases tobacco yield and quality, as well as soil extracellular enzyme activities. Different organic sources have different effects on soil enzyme activities. The study suggests that animal-based organic fertilizers, such as pig dung, should be combined with chemical fertilizers to improve tobacco quality and soil nutrients.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Dali Song, Xianglin Dai, Tengfei Guo, Jiwen Cui, Wei Zhou, Shaomin Huang, Jianbo Shen, Guoqing Liang, Ping He, Xiubin Wang, Shuiqing Zhang
Summary: Long-term heavy application of inorganic fertilizers reduces soil quality and biodiversity. Organic amendments have been found to have a positive impact on soil quality. This study demonstrates that the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers improves crop yield, soil chemical properties, microbial activity, and enzyme kinetic parameters, as well as enhances microbial growth and catabolic diversity.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Aram Gorooei, Thomas Gaiser, Amir Aynehband, Afrasyab Rahnama, Bahareh Kamali
Summary: To find suitable farming management approaches in the semi-arid climate of Iran, an experiment combining three farm management practices with four crop rotation systems was set up. The results showed that using the integrated farming method increased chlorophyll content and improved wheat grain quality and quantity. Farming with organic matter inputs had higher protein contents compared to using inorganic inputs.