Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment最新文献

With climate change, prolonged droughts are expected, requiring agronomic strategies to ensure stable wheat yields. Intercropping presents a promising approach, yet knowledge on non-legume intercrops remains limited. Thus, this study investigated the effects of strip intercropping spring wheat (Triticum aestivum ‘Quintus’) with taprooted coriander (Coriandrum sativum ‘Jantar’) on growth, grain quality of wheat, and the water-use efficiency (WUE) of both cropping systems under two irrigation regimes: well-watered (ww, 60% of soil maximum water-holding capacity) and reduced irrigation (dw, 40%). Experiments were conducted in 120 L containers filled with sandy loam. Under reduced irrigation, when wheat was intercropped with coriander (WCO), wheat grain yield remained comparable to that of sole wheat (WHE), even though the intercropped pots contained only half as many wheat plants. WUE, calculated as total wheat grain yield per pot per liter of applied water, was significantly higher in the intercropping system compared to the system where wheat was growing alone under the same water regime. Moreover, wheat crude protein content was higher under reduced irrigation in both the intercropped and the stand-alone system when being compared to well-watered conditions. Coriander seed yield was not significantly affected by irrigation. These results indicate that wheat–coriander intercropping enhances WUE compared to the sole wheat system, stabilizing wheat yield under water-limited conditions.

Organic amendments can enhance crop performance and soil properties under drought conditions; however, their legacy effects remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate legacy effects of different compost rates on wheat growth, nutrient uptake, microbial biomass, and soil nutrient availability under repeated drought-rewetting (DRW) cycles. The novelty of this study lies in assessing how historic compost applications influence plant and microbial responses under multiple DRW events, providing new insights into the long-term benefits of compost use. A 34-day glasshouse experiment was conducted using a sandy clay loam soil previously amended with compost at moderate (2 t/ha, C2) or high (4 t/ha, C4) rates, or freshly-treated with chemical fertilisers (F), alongside an unamended control (U). Three water regimes were imposed: well-watered [60% water holding capacity (WHC)], DRW at moderate drought (40% WHC), and DRW at severe drought (20% WHC). Moderate historic compost improved shoot growth and N uptake regardless of water regimes. High historic compost and fertiliser treatments increased shoot N concentration and uptake under well-watered and moderate drought, as well as soil mineral N, particularly under drought. In historic compost treatments, available P was consistently higher, while microbial biomass N and P remained similar to the control regardless of water regimes. Overall, compared to the high rate, moderate rate of historic compost resulted in higher shoot dry weight across three water regimes and microbial biomass N under the well-watered condition, but not plant N and P concentrations and uptake, photosynthesis, microbial biomass N and P, mineral N and available P under three water regimes. High compost rate increased N and P availability compared to unamended soil, but not all added nutrients were effectively taken up by plants or microbes. These findings suggest that moderate compost applications can be used in agricultural management to enhance wheat drought resilience and nutrient uptake.

Applications of silicon (Si) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to soils to increase plant resistance and plant growth and development are potential alternatives in soybean cultivation. Si and AMF promote growth and stress tolerance through increased absorption of essential micro and macronutrients, restriction of toxic ion uptake, increased root hydraulic conductance and water uptake, thus contributing to increased water use efficiency and improved defense response and development. Many studies highlight the importance of both in regulating plant growth under stressful conditions. Furthermore, recent studies have revealed the cumulative effects of Si and AMF in imparting stress tolerance when applied together. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the effects of soil application of Si and AMF on the development of soybean and the resistance and tolerance of soybean to different species of insect pests in the field. The experiments showed that the application of AMF and Si to the soil individually or in combination positively influenced soybean development and improved some aspects of the tolerance of soybean. The results of this work are important for the development of sustainable alternatives in the cultivation and protection of this important crop, as they demonstrate that the application of Si and AMF in the soil is beneficial for soybean crops.

Olive cultivation is a key agricultural activity in Mediterranean regions, yet its yield is highly sensitive to the impacts of climate change. Accurately predicting olive yield using optical remote sensing and data-driven models remains a challenging task. In this study, we developed an efficient workflow to estimate olive yields in the Kairouan and Sousse governorates of Tunisia. Our approach involved extracting features from multispectral reflectance bands and vegetation indices derived from Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Landsat-9 OLI-2 imagery, combined with topographic data from a digital elevation model (DEM). These spatial features were integrated with ground-truth observations collected through field surveys to construct a structured tabular data set. We then implemented an automated ensemble learning framework using AutoGluon to train and evaluate multiple machine learning models, optimise model combinations through stacking, and generate reliable yield predictions through five-fold cross-validation. The findings demonstrate strong predictive accuracy for both optical sensors, with Landsat-8 OLI achieving an R² = 0.8635 and an RMSE = 1.17 tons ha⁻¹, while Landsat-9 OLI-2 achieved an R² = 0.8378 and an RMSE = 1.32 tons ha⁻¹. Our study presents a robust, scalable, and cost-effective approach for olive yield prediction, with promising applicability for monitoring agricultural crop yields across diverse regions worldwide.

An increasing global population and harsh climate conditions are challenging most crops and contribute to threats of food insecurity. It is crucial to identify food sources that are sustainable and resilient. This review aims to provide insights into how date palm and camels can act as two major resilient and sustainable food sources to meet the requirements of the increasing global population and sustain fragile climatic conditions, especially those prevailing in dry arid regions. The date palms can withstand high temperatures (≈50°C), tolerate high salinity (12 dS m⁻¹), possess innate physiological features to retain water, have coping mechanisms to overcome abiotic stress, and have a shoot system that can absorb ≈200 kg of carbon dioxide per year. Furthermore, date palm fruit can be considered a sustainable food source due to their nutritional benefits and contribution to the circular economy. On the other hand, camels are resilient animals because they have better anatomical, physiological, and behavioral adaptations to harsh climatic conditions. In addition, camel milk and its diversified products offer a multitude of health and nutritional benefits, making it a sustainable food source. Together, date palm and camels align with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) 2 and 12 due to their resilience and sustainability in producing nutritious food, their even in adverse climatic conditions. This comprehensive review of utilizing date palm and camels as resilient and sustainable food sources can provide a platform to develop new practices and policies based on future foods for global food security challenges.

This review critically examines recent developments in biosensor technology and explores their potential to address pressing agricultural and environmental challenges. Amid increasing climate variability, biosensors provide field-deployable diagnostics for proximal ecosystem monitoring, with promising applications in real-time soil nutrient analysis—a process often complicated by the inherent heterogeneity of soil—as well as crop disease detection, drought assessment, and water quality protection. Recent progress in enzymatic, lab-on-a-chip, and fiber optic-based biosensors—particularly those involving nanomaterial enhancement, disposable sensors, and distributed temperature sensing validation—have expanded their potential for in situ deployment. When coupled with artificial intelligence and Internet of Things networks, these technologies can support data-driven decision making for sustainable agricultural and environmental resilience. Despite these advances, persistent barriers such ensuring a prolonged shelf life, calibration uniformity, field robustness, quality control, and ease of use continue to impede widespread adoption. Overcoming these barriers through interdisciplinary innovation and user-centered design will be essential in ensuring biosensors achieve their full potential as scalable, field-ready tools for sustainable agriculture and robust environmental management.

Legume crops are excellent sources of nutrients, including proteins, vitamins, and fatty acids. However, their agricultural productivity is severely affected worldwide due to drought stress. Combined application of biochar and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) improves plant growth, soil biochemical properties, and mitigates drought stress. This study evaluated the individual and combined effects of biochar and AMF on common bean growth, root morphological traits, and soil enzyme activities under drought conditions. A net house experiment was conducted using various treatments involving biochar application, AMF inoculation, and a combination of biochar and AMF. Results of the present study demonstrated that both biochar and AMF treatments significantly improved plant growth parameters and root morphological traits compared to the control under drought stress conditions. The combined application of biochar and AMF produced synergistic effects, improved root development, soil enzyme activities, chlorophyll content, and microbial biomass. Findings of the present study suggest that integrating biochar and AMF applications can effectively mitigate the negative impacts of drought by enhancing soil microbial activity and plant physiological responses. It provides valuable insights into sustainable practices for legume productivity under drought stress.

Smartphone-based monitoring has been increasingly applied to coffee crops for multiple tasks, such as predicting coffee tree productivity. However, its implementation remains limited to small-scale use, typically at the individual plant level. At larger scales, such as the farm level, its application is largely unexplored. Moreover, it is unclear whether the use of smartphone-based monitoring can help identifying key factors driving coffee tree productivity such as climate, soil, and management characteristics. To address these challenges, we investigate coffee tree productivity at the farm level and its key driving factors using smartphone-based monitoring and explainable artificial intelligence (xAI), and compare the results with those obtained from manual monitoring at the farm level. We used a multimodal data set composed of satellite data (soil and climate), smartphone-based monitoring (coffee tree productivity), and management characteristics (area, shade trees, and farm shape). The results showed that smartphone-based monitoring reached a of R² = 0.84 in predicting coffee tree productivity at the farm level. The xAI results revealed that both smartphone-based and manual monitoring approaches identified the coffee cultivation area (greater than 13 ha) and soil texture (sandy, clay loam) as the most important variables influencing coffee tree productivity at farm level. The analysis also indicated that shade trees do not significantly affect coffee tree productivity. These findings suggest that smartphone-based monitoring can serve as a reliable and scalable alternative to manual monitoring for evaluating coffee tree productivity at the farm level.

Microplastics (MPs) have extensively contaminated both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, yet their distribution and impacts in soil—both a source and a sink for MPs—remain poorly understood, particularly in remote agricultural landscapes. This study investigates the influence of plastic mulch on MP contamination in the mountainous agricultural soils of Kakani, Nepal. Soil samples were collected from plastic-mulched farms, non-mulched farms, and adjacent forests at two depths (0–15 cm and 15–30 cm). MPs were extracted using density separation and digestion, quantified under a stereomicroscope, and characterized through Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. Spike recovery experiments yielded a 70% recovery rate (n = 10), confirming the reliability of the extraction method. Results showed a significantly higher MP accumulation in plastic-mulched soils (average = 577 particles/kg), followed by non-mulched soils (average = 393 particles/kg) and forest soils (80 particles/kg) (p < 0.05). MPs were predominantly small (100–500 µm) and fragment-shaped, with notable vertical movement into deeper soil layers. The MP concentration in topsoil (0–15 cm) was significantly higher than in subsoil samples (15–30 cm) in all three land use types (p < 0.05). The presence of MPs in non-mulched and forest soils suggests multiple contamination sources, including atmospheric deposition and agricultural inputs. However, no significant correlation was found between MP accumulation and soil organic matter or pH, highlighting the complexity of MP–soil interactions. These findings emphasize the role of agricultural practices in MP contamination and underscore the urgent need for further research on the long-term ecological and agronomic impacts of MPs in soil environment.

Aquaponics, a symbiotic integration of aquaculture and hydroponics, represents a closed-loop cultivation paradigm that augments resource-use efficiency and sustainability in modern crop production. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), a premium culinary and medicinal herb frequently adopted as a model species in aquaponic cultivation, has been investigated extensively in relation to nutrient and irrigation regimes; nevertheless, direct comparisons of plant performance under distinct system architectures remain scarce. Here, we present the first comprehensive evaluation of basil growth dynamics within nutrient film technique (NFT) and deep-water culture (DWC) aquaponics, assessed at two phenological stages (40 and 70 days after sowing, DAS). A factorial experimental framework was implemented to quantify fish growth, basil biomass, water-use efficiency (WUE), pigment profiles and biochemical attributes. Our findings demonstrate that NFT consistently conferred superior WUE, exhibiting increases of 45% and 49% relative to DWC at 40 and 70 DAS, respectively. In contrast, the DWC system fostered enhanced fish productivity, basil biomass accumulation, chlorophyll and carotenoid enrichment, and metabolite profiles, particularly pronounced at 70 DAS. Both designs exhibited a stage-dependent decline in WUE, with reductions of 12.2% and 14.4% for NFT and DWC, respectively. Collectively, these results underscore the divergent functional advantages of NFT and DWC aquaponics and deliver critical insights for tailoring system design to maximize basil productivity and resource efficiency in water-limited agroecosystems.