Field Crops Research最新文献

{"title":"Meta-analysis of environmental-induced changes in optimal nitrogen rate of wheat at regional scale in China","authors":"Ying Meng ,&nbsp;Xueqin Liu ,&nbsp;Yue Li ,&nbsp;Linghan Huang ,&nbsp;Xu Tian ,&nbsp;Syed Tahir Ata-Ul-Karim ,&nbsp;Kang Yu ,&nbsp;Hainie Zha ,&nbsp;Xiaojun Liu ,&nbsp;Yongchao Tian ,&nbsp;Yan Zhu ,&nbsp;Weixing Cao ,&nbsp;Qiang Cao","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110295","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110295","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Effective nitrogen (N) management is crucial for the sustainability of wheat production in China, yet achieving a balance between high yields, economic profitability, and environmental sustainability remains a major challenge. While optimal N application rates vary spatiotemporally, the interactions between N fertilization and environmental factors further complicate crop productivity predictions. To address this, a multilevel meta-regression framework was developed. Integrating 4961 observations from 571 publications, this framework enables a comprehensive assessment of optimal N rates for yield, economic, and environmental goals across China's seven major wheat-growing regions. These regions were delineated based on soil, climate, and varietal characteristics. The results revealed significant spatiotemporal variations in optimal N application rates, driven by regional differences in soil and climate conditions. Temporally, the yield-optimal N rate (YON) followed an inverted U-shaped trend, peaking in the 2000s (268 kg ha⁻¹), whereas economic-optimal N rate (ECON) and environment-optimal N rate (ENON) showed a gradual increase. Region-specific N management thresholds optimize wheat production, boosting it by 15 % while simultaneously improving economic returns and reducing environmental pollution. Notably, yield responses to N optimization were influenced by soil-climate interactions, with harsher growing environments exhibiting greater marginal benefits from N fertilization compared to more favorable conditions. Crucially, N optimization effects varied even among similar production areas, underscoring the importance of localized agroecological adaptation. This study provides a data-driven framework for tailoring N management strategies to regional conditions, offering actionable insights for optimizing productivity, profitability, and sustainability in China's diverse wheat systems. The findings of this study not only refine N fertilizer recommendations but also equip policymakers and stakeholders with a holistic perspective on sustainable N management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"338 ","pages":"Article 110295"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145785741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What drives yield formation in sugar beet? Quantifying functional components across genotypes and irrigation managements","authors":"Finn Großmann ,&nbsp;Henning Kage ,&nbsp;Dieter Hackenberg ,&nbsp;Till Rose","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110292","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110292","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Improving sugar beet yield under variable environmental conditions requires a detailed understanding of the physiological mechanisms that drive yield formation. In sugar beet, canopy development determines resource capture, while radiation use efficiency (<em>RUE</em>) regulates the transformation efficiency of primary resources, and assimilate partitioning regulates the allocation of dry matter to the storage root. High-throughput phenotyping offers opportunities to quantify these physiological processes across diverse environments and genetic backgrounds, thereby identifying key traits for yield improvement.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A scalable drone-based pipeline was established and validated to estimate physiological yield components – leaf area index (<em>LAI</em>), radiation interception efficiency (<em>RIE</em>), <em>RUE</em>, and harvest index (<em>HI</em>). Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-derived multispectral imagery, combined with environmental records and harvest measurements, was used across more than 1300 field plots in Germany and Italy (2023–2024), covering three contrasting environments, two irrigation managements, and up to 171 genotypes. <em>LAI</em> estimation was calibrated and validated under different water regimes in northern Germany (mean absolute error, MAE = 0.30 m² m⁻²).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Dynamic UAV-based <em>LAI</em> enabled continuous estimation of radiation interception and biomass accumulation. Total dry matter correlated strongly with cumulative effective (temperature-dependent) radiation interception (<em>R²</em> = 0.81), indicating a comparatively stable <em>RUE</em> across diverse conditions. Genotypic variation in yield formation was mainly driven by canopy-level processes: <em>RIE</em> accounted for 65 % of variation under water-limited conditions, while <em>RUE</em> accounted for 46 % under irrigation. Partitioning traits (<em>HI</em> and <em>Sugar HI</em>) contributed minimally in both irrigation managements.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The results highlight the dominant role of canopy development and radiation use in sugar beet yield formation under contrasting environmental conditions. The proposed UAV-based framework provides a transferable, high-throughput approach to quantify physiological yield drivers in field settings. This enables targeted trait selection for breeding and facilitates integration of functional yield components into crop improvement strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"338 ","pages":"Article 110292"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145753853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimized row configuration enhances dry matter and nitrogen accumulation and translocation in drip-fertigated maize-soybean strip intercropping","authors":"Hongtai Kou,&nbsp;Zhenqi Liao,&nbsp;Zhenlin Lai,&nbsp;Yiyao Liu,&nbsp;Zhijun Li,&nbsp;Junliang Fan","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110290","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110290","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Maize-soybean intercropping, recognized as a sustainable agricultural practice, improves land productivity and resource use efficiency. However, the patterns of dry matter and nitrogen redistribution, which are critical for yield advantage, remain inadequately quantified under film-mulched drip fertigation.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study aimed to quantify the post-flowering translocation and accumulation of dry matter and nitrogen of intercropped maize and soybean under film-mulched drip-fertigation, and identify the optimal configuration that maximizes the intercropping advantage.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A two-year field experiment was carried out in 2022 and 2023, including eight maize-soybean intercropping row configurations, with monocultures of maize and soybean as controls. Key plant organs were sampled at critical growth stages to determine their dry matter and nitrogen content, which facilitated the subsequent calculation of translocation parameters. The land equivalent ratio, actual yield loss index, and nitrogen equivalent ratio were utilized to evaluate the advantages of the intercropping systems.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Intercropping significantly enhanced post-flowering dry matter translocation in maize by 23.5 % but reduced it in soybean by 34.5 %. Conversely, post-flowering nitrogen translocation was reduced in both maize by 39.9 % and soybean by 29.4 %. Dry matter accumulation after flowering was the primary source of grain yield, contributing 94.2 % in maize and 85.0 % in soybean, significantly outweighing the contribution from translocation (5.8 % for maize and 15.0 % for soybean). A similar trend was observed for nitrogen source. Among the configurations, two rows of maize alternating with four rows of soybean (M2S4) achieved the highest land equivalent ratio (1.52), actual yield loss index (1.29), intercropping advantage index (3.24) and nitrogen equivalent ratio (1.70).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The M2S4 configuration effectively coordinated dry matter and nitrogen translocation and accumulation, leading to enhanced resource complementarity and yield advantage in drip-fertigated maize-soybean intercropping. This finding provides effective strategy for improving productivity and nitrogen use efficiency in maize-soybean strip intercropping systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110290"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145732423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Modeling and explaining fertilizer effect heterogeneity on maize yield in Ghana using causal and predictive machine learning","authors":"Anselme K.K. Kouame ,&nbsp;Gerard B.M. Heuvelink ,&nbsp;Prem S. Bindraban","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110287","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110287","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Maize is a key staple crop in Ghana, yet yields remain low (20–40 % of potential). Although fertilizer is promoted to enhance productivity, adoption is limited by highly variable yield responses.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study analyzed spatial and environmental drivers of fertilizer effect heterogeneity using 2854 yield observations from randomized controlled trials and 10,916 pairwise absolute yield response to fertilizer (AR) estimates.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Causal forest (CF) and boosted random forest (BRF) models to estimated fertilizer effects, with BRF performance evaluated via a 10 × 10 nested cross-validation and grid search. SHapley Additive exPlanations and Accumulated Local Effects analyses identified key drivers of fertilizer effect heterogeneity and quantified the magnitude of their influence on fertilizer yield effect.</div></div><div><h3>Results and conclusions</h3><div>Fertilizer effect varied widely (–4.7–8.9 t ha^–1), with the Sudan Savannah showing the highest median AR (2.8 t ha^–1) and the Forest-Savannah Transition the lowest (0.9 t ha^–1). BRF outperformed CF in predicting fertilizer effects (ME: –0.06–0.05 t ha^–1 vs. –0.19 t ha^–1, RMSE: 1.17–1.23 t ha^–1 vs. 1.3 t ha^{– 1}, MEC: 0.32–0.38 vs. 0.24 and CCC: 0.46–0.54 vs. 0.34). Key determinants of fertilizer effect heterogeneity included both climatic variables (Palmer Drought Severity Index [PDSI], vapor pressure deficit, rainfall) and soil properties (silt content, exchangeable aluminum). PDSI emerged as the dominant driver of fertilizer effect heterogeneity in the entire data set. However, the relative importance of soil versus climate varied spatially: soil properties were the main drivers of fertilizer effect in the Semi-Deciduous Forest and the Forest-Savannah Transition, whereas climatic variables played a stronger role in northern zones. Fertilizer yield effect increased by 0.4–1.6 t ha^–1 with increasing PDSI, indicating that improved moisture availability enhances fertilizer use efficiency. Overall, optimal moisture conditions (PDSI &gt; –2.0), the use of hybrid seeds, and the application of briquette fertilizer all contributed to higher fertilizer effects, whereas drought conditions substantially reduced them. Furthermore, fertilizer effect decreased by 0.2–1.4 t ha^–1 as silt increased from 9 % to 30 %, and by 0.3–0.6 t ha^–1 as exchangeable aluminum increased from 36 to 221 mg kg^–1.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>This study presents the first large-scale, data-driven assessment of fertilizer yield effects heterogeneity in Ghana, integrating causal and predictive machine learning with explainable AI. Findings support tailored fertilizer strategies by agro-ecological zones to reduce farmer risk and promote sustainable intensification.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110287"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rice ratooning reduces greenhouse gas emissions from rice-wheat rotation in China","authors":"Penghui Jin ,&nbsp;Tianyu Wang ,&nbsp;Shichen Wang ,&nbsp;Zhijun Wei ,&nbsp;Kaifu Song ,&nbsp;Jing Ma ,&nbsp;Ligan Zhang ,&nbsp;Shaobing Peng ,&nbsp;Guangbin Zhang ,&nbsp;Hua Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110293","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110293","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Ratoon rice cultivation is expanding in Southern China, but the effects of cropping system change on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their underlying mechanisms remain unclear.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study aimed to quantify the impact of converting rice-wheat rotation (RW) to ratoon rice on annual GHG emissions, and to elucidate the mechanisms driving the distinct emission patterns in paddy fields.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A two-year field experiment quantified CH₄ and N₂O emissions and investigated associated microbial processes in the ratoon rice-milk vetch system (RR) converted from RW.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Compared to RW, RR reduced annual CH₄ emissions by 24.9 %, through collectively suppressed methanogenesis (depleted <em>Methanocellales</em>) and enhanced oxidation (enriched <em>Methylocystis</em>/<em>Methylococcus</em>) during the rice season. Within RR, CH₄ emissions were 87.5 % lower in the ratoon season than in the medium-rice season, driven by a 2.4-fold enhancement in CH₄ oxidation. Furthermore, RR decreased annual N₂O emissions by 70.4 %, primarily from low nitrogen input in the non-rice season. However, nitrogen application around medium rice harvest triggered two N₂O flux peaks, associated with 37.1–52.4 % increases in nitrification and denitrification potentials and a 5.97- to 9.67-fold rise in the ratio of genes encoding N₂O-producing (<em>nirS</em>+<em>nirK</em>) to N₂O-reducing (<em>nosZ</em>) enzymes. Overall, RR reduced annual GHG emissions by 29.2 % and GHG intensity by 8.61 %, despite a 3.62 Mg ha⁻¹ reduction in grain yield.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>RR reduced annual CH₄ emissions by limiting methanogenesis and enhancing oxidation during rice seasons, while concurrently lowering N₂O emissions through diminished nitrogen inputs during non-rice seasons.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>These findings elucidate the mechanisms of GHG mitigation in ratoon rice converted from rice-wheat rotation, demonstrating its significant potential for sustainable low-emission rice cultivation in China.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110293"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unlocking potassium sustainability: Rice-crab co-culture system enhances potassium balance","authors":"Haixia Liu ,&nbsp;Xuran Liu ,&nbsp;Feng Zhang ,&nbsp;Hongwei Han ,&nbsp;Yinghao Li ,&nbsp;XiaoLi Wu ,&nbsp;Guangyan Liu ,&nbsp;Daocai Chi ,&nbsp;Jun Meng ,&nbsp;Taotao Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110289","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110289","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Rice-aquatic animal coculture leverages ecological synergies to improve nutrient cycling. However, the potassium (K) utilization and balance, critical determinants of system sustainability, remain poorly understood.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>A two-year field experiment was conducted in Liaoning Province, the primary hub for the rice-crab coculture system in China. We present the first comprehensive investigation to quantify soil available K, K utilization, environmental K losses, system-level balances, yield, and the economic benefits of rice-crab coculture.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Results showed that rice-crab coculture significantly enhanced K retention. Soil exchangeable K was 5.23–7.06 % higher, and soil solution K⁺ concentrations in subsurface layers (20–40 cm) were 13.79–16.61 % higher than in rice monoculture. The system exhibited significantly higher aboveground K uptake in rice while supporting crab production, although K leaching was 14.43–24.49 % higher, a trade-off offset resulting from substantial K balance improvements. Crucially, rice-crab coculture exhibited superior K sustainability, with 13.51–15.77 % and 16.83–18.78 % higher apparent and total K balances, respectively, than in rice monoculture. Partial least squares path modeling identified aboveground K uptake and soil exchangeable K as pivotal drivers of total K balance in the rice-crab coculture system. Additionally, rice-crab coculture achieved significantly higher economic benefits than rice monoculture through obtaining additional crab yield without affecting rice yield.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>These findings demonstrated the potential of rice-crab coculture to enhance K utilization and reduce K deficiency while providing considerable economic benefits. The results provide insights for developing policies and encouraging more farmers to adopt rice-crab coculture.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>The study established a quantitative framework for optimizing K management in coculture systems, a crucial advancement for increasing the sustainability of the rice-aquaculture frontier.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110289"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Silicon-mediated drought stress tolerance in wheat: Impacts on yield, nutrient uptake, osmotic regulation, and antioxidant responses","authors":"Jahanshah Saleh,&nbsp;Akbar Soliemanzadeh","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110284","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110284","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change has severely impacted wheat productivity in the MENA region, where water shortages and drought stress are major challenges. To address these issues, strategic approaches, such as applying silicon (Si) during critical wheat growth phases, are essential. For this purpose, split-plot field experiments were conducted over two growing seasons (2020/21 and 2021/22) to evaluate the effects of four Si application levels including control (Si0), fertigation with 20 kg ha⁻¹ (Si1), foliar spray with 2.5 kg ha⁻¹ (Si2), and foliar spray with 5 kg ha⁻¹ (Si3) combined with two irrigation regimes (100 % of the irrigation requirement, I100 and 60 % of the irrigation requirement, I60) on wheat yield performance. The results revealed that silicon application, especially the Si1 treatment followed by Si3, reduced the impact of water stress on stem length, kernel number per spike, 1000-grain weight, biological yield, and grain yield across both seasons. For instance, applying the Si1 treatment under deficit irrigation increased grain yield by 16 % in the first year and 24 % in the second year compared with the control. The straw and grain nutrient contents were also affected by Si application and irrigation regimes. Under deficit irrigation, fertigation with 20 kg ha⁻¹ Si significantly increased nitrogen (N) content in both straw and grain, by 6 % in the first year, and by 13 % (grain) and 23 % (straw) in the second year. The interaction between Si application and irrigation regimes significantly influenced proline, reducing sugar, and glycine betaine levels; for instance, while proline content rose under water stress conditions in both growing seasons, the Si1, Si2, and Si3 treatments significantly reduced it. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was enhanced in wheat plants under drought stress, particularly when combined with Si application. In contrast, catalase activity decreased under water stress; however, Si application significantly boosted its activity. In conclusion, fertigation with 20 kg ha⁻¹ Si during the stem extension phase demonstrated the best performance in mitigating drought stress, enhancing wheat yield components, improving nutrient uptake, and regulating physiological responses, making it a promising strategy to strengthen wheat resilience under water-limited conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110284"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The proliferation of maize deep root systems is beneficial for enhancing the water use efficiency of the maize-soybean intercropping system","authors":"Shiming Duan ,&nbsp;Xiangyu Li ,&nbsp;Jian Kang ,&nbsp;Xiuwei Liu ,&nbsp;Shichao Chen ,&nbsp;Bin Du ,&nbsp;Taisheng Du","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110282","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110282","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context or problem</h3><div>The maize-soybean intercropping system, as a typical resource-intensive agricultural model, exhibits constrained productivity due to resource competition caused by interspecific root niche overlap.</div></div><div><h3>Objective or research question</h3><div>We proposes a regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) strategy that accounts for the spatiotemporal water demands of intercropped crops, aiming to improve interspecific water complementarity and decrease rhizosphere competition.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Four irrigation treatments were implemented: MSW1 (conventional irrigation, full irrigation for both crops), MSW2 (full maize with RDI soybean), MSW3 (RDI maize with full soybean), and MSW4 (RDI for both crops).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Two-year field trials demonstrated that compared to MSW1 treatment, the MSW2 treatment stimulated maize deep root proliferation (+ 11–65 % in root tissue density), enabling maize to better utilize subsoil water originally accessed by soybean (+ 182–284 %). This strategy reduced irrigation volume by 9.4 %-17 % without compromising yield, while achieving a 29 % reduction in evapotranspiration and an 12 % improvement in water equivalence ratio (WER). Water use efficiency (WUE) and economic water use efficiency (EWUE) increased by 28–29 %, respectively. Grain yield under MSW2 surpassed other deficit treatments (MSW3 and MSW4) by 46 %-49 %, with 30 %-34 % of this yield advantage attributed to root spatial niche superposition effects and 70 %-167 % enhancement in interspecific hydraulic compensation effects.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Our results demonstrated that RDI can serve as an effective management tool to intentionally reshape root system interactions in maize–soybean intercropping, shifting belowground relationships from strong competition toward more complementary water use. Prioritizing full irrigation for maize while applying moderate and growth stage–specific deficits to soybean emerges can conserve water and enhances both WUE and economic returns without compromising yield.</div></div><div><h3>Implications or significance</h3><div>The proposed “full maize with RDI soybean” strategy can be readily implemented in existing drip irrigated intercropping systems and provides a concrete pathway for sustainable intensification of maize–soybean production in water limited agroecosystems. Future work combining this framework with high throughput root and canopy phenotyping, sensor based smart drip irrigation control and multi-site evaluations will be important to optimize and scale this approach under diverse climatic and management conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110282"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating cotton plant population effects on irrigation management and yield stability","authors":"Miller W. Hayes ,&nbsp;Wesley M. Porter ,&nbsp;John L. Snider ,&nbsp;Lavesta C. Hand ,&nbsp;George Vellidis","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110285","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110285","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>The rising cost of crop inputs has driven farmers to reduce costs. One area they have focused on is the seeding rate in an effort to minimize seed cost. Numerous studies have been completed every few years to evaluate optimum seeding rates across the U.S. cotton belt. However, few of these have focused on plant population effects on irrigation requirements and water use.</div></div><div><h3>Objectives and methods</h3><div>To bridge this research gap, a two-year research trial was conducted at the University of Georgia’s Stripling Irrigation Research Park near Camilla, Georgia. This trial was implemented using a variable-rate overhead lateral irrigation system to irrigate nine treatments independently. The cotton cultivar Deltapine 2038 B3XF was planted and hand-thinned to represent Georgia's high, moderate, and low plant populations. Each population had a corresponding plot that was irrigated based on the UGA SmartIrrigation Cropfit app, another irrigated using a 45 kPa weighted average soil water tension (SWT) threshold, and a rainfed check in a factorial arrangement. Each treatment was replicated three times and had custom-built probes with Watermark tensiometers integrated at 8, 16, and 24 in. (Irrometer Co. Riverside, CA) attached to Realm5 telemetry (Realm, Lincoln, NE) installed randomly into two of the three replicates. SWT was logged hourly for all treatments and used for daily irrigation scheduling of appropriate plots.</div></div><div><h3>Results and key findings</h3><div>As populations increased, sensor-based irrigation requirements were reduced for the highest population density in both years by at least one 18 mm irrigation event compared to lower plant densities. There were no statistical correlations between crop density and yield, IWUE, or profitability, but rather irrigation treatments in 2023. Because reductions in seed input cost estimates were offset by increased irrigation input cost, which allowed for no significant benefit to reduced plant density in cotton grown in the southeastern U.S. Therefore a practical application of these findings suggest targeting a final population of 50,000 plants ha⁻¹ as a middle ground compromise both scientifically documented yield stability and increased irrigation requirements</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110285"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unravelling decisive attributes for yield maximization in conservation agriculture: A five-year analysis of rice-chickpea system in South Asian rice ecologies","authors":"C.P. Nath ,&nbsp;Narendra Kumar ,&nbsp;Asik Dutta ,&nbsp;Mukesh Kumar ,&nbsp;C.S. Praharaj ,&nbsp;Raghavendra Singh ,&nbsp;Suman Sen ,&nbsp;Rajeev Kumar Verma ,&nbsp;G.P. Dixit","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110288","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110288","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Conservation agriculture (CA) is increasingly promoted for sustaining crop productivity and climate resilience in diverse agro-ecologies. However, yield gain under CA is not often uniform and significant compared to conventional tillage (CT). A deeper understanding of decisive crop traits driving yields under CA is critical for higher yield gain.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study aimed to compare the effects of CA and CT-based systems with weed management practices on growth, physiological, and yield traits of rice and chickpea, and to delineate the key functional traits of these crops for yield maximization under CA.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A five-year field experiment (2016–2021) was conducted on a rice–chickpea rotation in split-plot design with three replications with system-based CT and zero tillage (ZT) combined with residue retention (RR) in main plot and weed management practices in subplot. The key functional traits of growth and yields were identified using structural equation modelling (SEM), regression and multivariate analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The CA practice such as ZT dry seeded rice (ZTDSR) followed by ZT chickpea with added residues (ZTDSR–ZTC+RR) improved rice dry matter and root dry weight by 16–28 % over transplanted puddled rice (TPR) – CT chickpea without crop residues (TPR–CTC–NR). The yields in CA system were constrained by 20–39 % higher unfilled grains panicle⁻¹ than CT. In chickpea, CA practice enhanced pod number, root dry weight, and nodulation, resulting in a 10 % higher mean yield over CT. The CA reduced rice chlorophyll by 7–8 %, but increased chickpea chlorophyll by 4–5 %. The SEM revealed that unfilled grains panicle⁻¹ (–24.6 % than CT) dominated yield losses in CA-based ZTDSR, while pod weight and nodule number plant⁻¹ strongly influenced ZT chickpea yields. System productivity was initially higher under CT, but CA with pre + post emergence herbicides (pendimethalin–metsulfuron-methyl + chlorimuron-ethyl in rice and oxyfluorfen–propaquizafop in chickpea) outperformed from second year onwards.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion and significance</h3><div>The present study identified unfilled grains panicle⁻¹ in rice and pod/nodulation traits in chickpea as decisive yield factors in CA. The major trade-offs for higher yields under CA were unfilled grains panicle⁻¹ for rice and higher vegetative biomass vis-à-vis reduced pod weight plant⁻¹ for chickpea. Therefore, concerted efforts are required to develop improved trait specific adaptable varieties and for yield maximization for CA.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110288"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145731696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}