Field Crops Research最新文献

{"title":"Integrating meta-analysis and machine learning to decipher the impact of low-light stress on yield and grain components in staple crops","authors":"Yuchuan Zhang ,&nbsp;Xi Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiaohan Dong ,&nbsp;Mingrui Zhao ,&nbsp;Meng Wang ,&nbsp;Feifei Zhang ,&nbsp;Qinghua Yang ,&nbsp;Lixin Tian ,&nbsp;Baili Feng","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110270","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110270","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>Low-light stress poses a significant threat to global food security by impairing crop yield and grain quality. Therefore, investigating the impact of low-light stress on staple crops is imperative.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>In this study, we integrated meta-analysis (239 studies, 8019 observations) and machine learning to quantify the effects of low-light stress on crop yield and grain components across diverse environmental contexts.</div></div><div><h3>Results and conclusions</h3><div>Our results demonstrated that low-light stress significantly reduced crop yield (CY: 54.13 %), thousand-grain weight (TGW: 11.38 %), grain number (GN: 29.70 %), and harvest index (HI: 26.70 %), while altering grain composition, including reduced starch content (SC: 7.40 %), starch yield (SY: 67.10 %), amylose content (AC:6.53 %), amylopectin content (APC: 4.81 %), and protein yield (PY: 32.25 %), despite increasing protein content (PC: 11.72 %). Machine learning models identified crop type, low-light stage, degree, duration, climatic and soil conditions as key factors driving these responses. Under low-light stress, maize (cereal crops) exhibited the most severe reductions in CY, GN, and HI, while legume crops showed the greatest declines in PC and PY, and root and tuber crops experienced the largest decreases in SC and SY. The stage of low-light stress was the most critical factor influencing CY, TGW, GN, and HI, with the reproductive growth stage being the period when crops are most sensitive to low-light stress. Furthermore, the detrimental effects of low-light stress on crops aggravated with either increased degree or prolonged duration. With mean annual temperature (MAT) of 10–15℃ or mean annual precipitation (MAP) of 400–800 mm, low-light stress caused the most pronounced reductions in CY, GN, and HI. When MAT &gt; 15℃, the greatest reductions in SC, SY, AC, and PY were observed under low-light stress, with the highest increase in PC. Additionally, in sandy or neutral soils (pH 6.5–7.5), low-light stress exerted the most significant impacts on CY, GN, SC, and AC. Conversely, soils with high organic matter content (&gt; 20 kg⁻¹) help mitigate the negative effects of low-light stress on crops.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>These findings provide a scientific basis for designing targeted strategies to alleviate low-light stress and promoting sustainable agricultural production under changing climatic conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110270"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145614032","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":"Decreases in yield-scaled reactive nitrogen losses and nitrogen surplus by shifting rice-wheat rotation to ratoon rice mode in Southeast China","authors":"Jiarong Liu ,&nbsp;Guangbin Zhang ,&nbsp;Penghui Jin ,&nbsp;Shichen Wang ,&nbsp;Keda Jin ,&nbsp;Jing Ma ,&nbsp;Siyuan Cai ,&nbsp;Xu Zhao ,&nbsp;Shen Yuan ,&nbsp;Shaobing Peng ,&nbsp;Hua Xu ,&nbsp;Xiaoyuan Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110258","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110258","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Rice ratooning has a good yield-increasing effect compared with traditional single-cropping rice and has received extensive attention in East and Southeast Asian countries. However, few reports are available on the losses of reactive nitrogen (Nr) in ratoon rice fields, especially on the balance of N input and output.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A two-year field experiment was conducted to reveal the difference in the yield-scaled Nr losses and N surplus in the rice-ratoon rice-Chinese milk vetch system (RR) shifted from common rice-wheat rotation (RW) in Southeast China.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Compared with RW (rice: 5.48 t ha⁻¹ + wheat: 3.11 t ha⁻¹), RR increased annual grain yields (main crop: 7.56 t ha⁻¹ + ratoon crop: 4.97 t ha⁻¹) by 45.9 %, which was mainly attributed to the 44.8 % higher grain N uptake. Moreover, RR significantly increased the NH₃ volatilization (63.2 %), N₂O emissions (40.7 %), N leaching (175 %) and runoff losses (43.4 %) in the rice season while decreasing them by 89.9 %, 61.2 %, 69.3 %, and 71.5 %, respectively, in the winter season. Annually, the Nr losses in RR (132 kg N ha⁻¹) were comparable to those in RW (127 kg N ha⁻¹), thus leaving the yield-scaled Nr losses in RR 27.1 % lower. Taking the N balance into account, the N output and input were 555–663 kg N ha⁻¹ for RR and 381–598 kg N ha⁻¹ for RW, indicating a 104 kg N ha⁻¹ (or 30.3 %) lower in the N surplus in RR.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions and Implications</h3><div>Our findings demonstrated the potential of shifting common rice-wheat rotation to ratoon rice mode in decreasing the yield-scaled Nr losses and N surplus while greatly boosting crop yields. This transformation would be a promising win-win solution in food security enhancement without compromising environmental safety.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110258"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145611879","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":"Early cotton topping increases peanut yield without sacrificing cotton yield through reducing interspecific competition under intercropping","authors":"Junjun Nie ,&nbsp;Yanan Li ,&nbsp;Zhenhuai Li ,&nbsp;Shizhen Xu ,&nbsp;Zhengpeng Cui ,&nbsp;Lijie Zhan ,&nbsp;Dongmei Zhang ,&nbsp;Lin Sun ,&nbsp;Jianlong Dai ,&nbsp;Yanjun Zhang ,&nbsp;Hezhong Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110277","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110277","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Cotton-peanut intercropping boosts land productivity but faces constraints from asymmetric interspecific competition, where cotton shading suppresses peanut yield and delays system maturity. This study tests a novel approach of advancing cotton topping to the first flowering stage (7–8 fruiting branches), contrasting with conventional peak-flowering topping (12–13 branches), to resolve these dual limitations of delayed cotton maturity and suppressed peanut yield.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>A three-year field experiment (2022–2024) systematically evaluated early topping and conventional topping in a wide-strip cotton-peanut intercropping system (4 cotton: 6 peanut rows). Key parameters measured were canopy microclimate (including photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), temperature and humidity), cotton growth and boll dynamics, ¹ ³C photoassimilate partitioning, peanut physiology, and yield components.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Early topping maintained seedcotton yield despite a 21–29 % reduction in biomass, achieved by significantly elevating the harvest index (HI) by 22–33 % through enhanced photoassimilate partitioning to bolls (11–34 %) and roots. Early topping also concentrated boll setting within 6 weeks post-flowering and accelerated maturation by 10 days. Crucially, early topping reduced cotton height by &gt; 40 % and number of fruiting branches by 44 %, restructuring the canopy to improve the microclimate for border-row peanuts: PAR increased by 6–112 %, canopy temperature rose by 0.8–1.2 °C, and humidity decreased by 1–7 %. These shifts boosted border-row peanut canopy photosynthesis by 78 %, leaf area index by 13–55 %, dry matter accumulation by 30–40 %, and ultimately pod yield by 24–80 %, primarily through the increased pod density. Consequently, the land equivalent ratio increased by 9.6 %.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Early topping synchronizes cotton maturity while creating an “open canopy” that systemically alleviates light competition. By optimizing cotton source-sink relations and microclimate-mediated legume productivity, early topping establishes a novel “low biomass–high partitioning” strategy to achieve “double-high” yields in cotton-legume systems. This practice offers transformative potential for sustainable intensification in global agroecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110277"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145682360","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":"2026-03-01","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":"Interactive effects of irrigation and planting density on photosynthetic performance and yield of winter wheat","authors":"Muhammad Fraz Ali ,&nbsp;Liijuan Ma ,&nbsp;Wanrui Han ,&nbsp;Yang Zhou ,&nbsp;Shengnan Wang ,&nbsp;Xiang Lin ,&nbsp;Dong Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110250","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110250","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Context&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Water-efficient and high-yield agricultural practices are critical for achieving sustainable development, particularly in semi-arid regions like Northwest China where winter wheat production faces severe water scarcity. As irrigation and plant density are two closely linked management factors, understanding their effects on photosynthetic traits and chlorophyll fluorescence is essential for optimizing resource use and ensuring yield stability.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;A two-year field experiment was conducted using three plant density levels (PD&lt;sub&gt;1&lt;/sub&gt;: 562.5 × 10⁴ plants ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt;; PD&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;: 375 × 10⁴ plants ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt; and PD&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;: 187.5 × 10⁴ plants ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt;) in combination with four irrigation strategies (I&lt;sub&gt;0&lt;/sub&gt;: rainfed; I&lt;sub&gt;1&lt;/sub&gt;: pre-winter + jointing; I&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;: jointing only and I&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;: jointing + anthesis stage).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Across both growing seasons the PD3-I2 treatment (low plant density, jointing-only irrigation) yielded the highest net photosynthetic parameters at anthesis. Compared to PD1-I2, the PD3-I2 significantly increased the net photosynthetic rate (by 11.75 % and 11.02 %), transpiration rate (by 15.20 % and 8.71 %), stomatal conductance (by 13.22 % and 20.59 %), and intracellular CO₂ concentration (by 2.42 % and 7.17 %). Irrigation at jointing (I2) consistently enhanced the effective yield of ΦPSII by 3.36–3.84 % across all plant density levels. The PD3-I2 combination was particularly effective, significantly increasing photochemical quenching (qP) by 5.87–15.51 % and PSII vitality index (&lt;em&gt;F&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;em&gt;v&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;/&lt;em&gt;F&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;em&gt;o&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;) by 4.14–7.67 % over the PD1-I2 treatment. The grain-yield-optimizing combination varied interannually: maximum grain yield was achieved under PD3-I2 in 2022–23 (5819 kg ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt;) and PD2-I2 in 2023–24 (6310 kg ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt;). Notably, irrigation at the jointing stage increased the yield by upto 18 % in medium and low plant density (PD2, PD3) compared to the other regimes, demonstrating that I2 was most effective when not combined with higher PD. Mantel’s test revealed significant correlations among management practices, key physiological traits and grain yield, though these relationships were modulated by inter-annual climatic variability.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusions&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;This study demonstrated that a combination of lower plant density (187.5–375 × 10⁴ plants ha&lt;sup&gt;-&lt;/sup&gt;¹) with supplemental irrigation at the jointing stage optimizes photosynthetic performance and enhances grain yield stability in winter wheat under semi-arid conditions. These findings advocate for a strategic approach: using limited water resources to establish and support an optimal plant population structure, thereby reconciling the trade-off between water conservation and yield enhancement. This integrated management practice is recommended as a climate-resilient str","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110250"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145583824","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":"Productivity of straw-mulched skip row maize under semi-arid rainfed growing conditions in Northeast China","authors":"Jiayi Nie ,&nbsp;Zhi Dong ,&nbsp;Zhentao Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhiyan Hou ,&nbsp;Jun Dong ,&nbsp;Yang Liu ,&nbsp;Tianran Sun ,&nbsp;Wopke van der Werf ,&nbsp;Lizhen Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhanxiang Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110253","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110253","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context or Problem</h3><div>Straw mulching regulates soil water and heat balance under semi-arid conditions, while skip-row planting helps to alleviate crop drought stress and facilitate mechanized production. Straw mulching on skip rows could increase soil moisture content but decrease soil temperature, however, it is little knowledge on if straw mulching amount and skip row growing maize could coordinatively improve maize productivity and sustainability under semi-arid conditions.</div></div><div><h3>Objective or Research Question</h3><div>The study aims to find the most appropriate straw mulching amount to balance the relationship between the soil moisture content improvement and soil warming, in order to achieve yield advantages.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A field experiment was conducted over five years (2016–2020) comparing four straw mulch amounts: 0, 3, 6 and 9 t ha⁻¹ (M0, M3, M6, M9). The maize was grown in a skip-row system in which two out of three rows were planted while the third row was skipped to apply straw mulch. The skip row changes every year.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Compared to the no mulch control, all three mulch treatments significantly increased crop yield (on average over 5 years 19.5 % in M3, 23.2 % in M6, and 14.1 % in M9). Yield benefits were greater in years with less rainfall. Soil water content in M6 and M9 was significantly higher than in M0, and temperature fluctuations in the topsoil were moderated compared to M0.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Among various mulching amounts tested, a recommended amount for optimal results is 6 t ha⁻¹. However, the yield-enhancing effect of straw-mulched skip row tends to diminish as precipitation levels increase.</div></div><div><h3>Implications or Significance</h3><div>Our results demonstrates that straw mulch application in skip-row maize could increase crop productivity and regional sustainability under climate change in water-limited environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110253"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145609501","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":"Synergizing root growth and carboxylate release enhance seed yield in maize-soybean intercropping on acidic karst soils","authors":"Cheng-Xi Yi ,&nbsp;Yi Jin ,&nbsp;Long-Gui Li ,&nbsp;Yu-Mei Wang ,&nbsp;Yu Dai ,&nbsp;Qiao Zhu ,&nbsp;Xiao-Li Wang ,&nbsp;Yinglong Chen ,&nbsp;Xiao-Min Wu ,&nbsp;Jin He ,&nbsp;Sanwei Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110286","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110286","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Southwest China is one of the largest karst regions, where nitrogen (N) deficiency and poor management limit crop productivity. Maize-soybean intercropping is a widely adopted planting model used by farmers across China. Therefore, innovative crop management practices to improve productivity in this region are essential to ensure China’s food security.</div></div><div><h3>Objective and methods</h3><div>Ridge-furrow with film mulching (RFM) combined with N supply was introduced for the first time into the maize-soybean intercropping system. Eight treatment combinations (maize and soybean monocultures (M), maize-soybean intercropping with RFM and with ridge-furrow (RF) under 0 (N0) and 150 (N150) kg N ha⁻¹ supply) were used to investigate changes in seed yield, land use efficiency, biomass, N uptake, and root morphological and physiological traits from 2020 to 2023 in Southwest China.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The results showed that introduction of RFM into the maize-soybean intercropping system significantly increased maize (13 %) and soybean (42 %) seed yields and land equivalent ratio (LER) (25 %) compared to ridge-furrow without film mulching. Meanwhile, N150 significantly increased maize (33 %) and soybean (24 %) seed yields compared to N0 across four years. The high LER was attributed to the increased yields of maize and soybean, which were associated with higher biomass and N uptake under RFM. The promotion of root growth, such as increased root length and carboxylate release with RFM, enhanced N uptake in both maize and soybean was observed across three years (2021–2023). In addition, N application significantly increased biomass accumulation, N uptake, root length, and carboxylate release at two developmental stages across two years (2022 and 2023), thus contributing to higher seed yields in maize and soybean.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>RFM combined with N supply can further increase crop yield and land use efficiency in maize-soybean intercropping systems in karst areas. This improvement is explained by the enhancement of the “N-capture”, related to root morphological traits, and “N-mining”, related to carboxylate release, which together increase N uptake, biomass, and ultimately seed yield.</div></div><div><h3>Implications</h3><div>RFM combined with N addition could be considered an efficiency strategy to increase crop productivity in maize-soybean intercropping systems in karst agroecosystems. Our results provided insights into the effects of crop management practices and N addition on N-acquisition strategies and their roles in nutrition uptake and yield formation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110286"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145682356","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":"Wheat seed emergence and grain yield are enhanced by ditch-buried straw return and soil rolling via improving root-soil contact and soil water retention","authors":"Xinhu Guo ,&nbsp;Yuekai Wang ,&nbsp;Tianyu Ding ,&nbsp;Yue Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhenzhen Li ,&nbsp;Yaguang Xue ,&nbsp;Yafeng Wei ,&nbsp;Jian Liu ,&nbsp;Feng-Min Li ,&nbsp;Haishui Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110266","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110266","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context or problem</h3><div>Poor seed-to-soil contact under rotary tillage straw return is a key factor limiting wheat seed emergence and subsequent yield formation. Exploring proper agronomic practices, like deep straw burial or post-seeding rolling, to improve seed-to-soil contact is considered a potential pathway for enhancing wheat yields.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A two-year split-plot experiment included tillage (rotary tillage with full straw return, RT; ditch-buried straw return, DB) and rolling treatments (soil rolling, SR and no rolling, NR) was conducted in a rice-rotated wheat cropping system. Soil physical properties, crop growth and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) were determined, and seed-to-soil contact was quantified by using X-ray CT and a machine learning method.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Compared with RT and NR treatment, DB and SR increased surface soil bulk density to a crop-suitable value of approximately 1.15 g cm⁻³. Meanwhile, both practices enhanced soil water-holding capacity and pore hydraulic radius, but reduced the image-based macro-porosity and connected macro-porosity. The altered soil pore structure enhanced soil water retention and improved seed-soil contact, facilitating wheat seed emergence. Compared with RT, DB increased seed-soil contact surface area by 30.0 % and seedling emergence rate by 34.8 %. Similarly, SR increased seed- soil contact surface area by 13.2 % and seedling emergence rate by 15.2 % relative to NR. These improvements collectively increased root biomass, photosynthetic capacity, spike numbers per unit area and kernel weight. Overall, DBSR increased wheat grain yield and NUE by 13.3 % and 8.6 % on average relative to the other treatments.</div></div><div><h3>Implications</h3><div>These findings demonstrated that the improved seed-to-soil contact is an important aspect for the synergistic enhancement in wheat yield and nitrogen use efficiency. Deep straw burial or post-seeding compaction (rolling) represents an effective way to eliminate low germination rate caused by rotary tillage straw return and further increase wheat yields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110266"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145614034","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":"Comprehensive evaluation of sustainability of dry direct-seeded, wet direct-seeded, and transplanted rice-wheat rotation systems in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze river based on emergy analysis","authors":"Zhaoqiang Jin ,&nbsp;Beiyou Zhang ,&nbsp;Qianqian Chen ,&nbsp;Meilin Chen ,&nbsp;Sifan Duan ,&nbsp;Yuanying Luo ,&nbsp;Shubin Yan ,&nbsp;Xiangshan Li ,&nbsp;Matthew Tom Harrison ,&nbsp;Shijie Shi ,&nbsp;Ke Liu ,&nbsp;Liying Huang ,&nbsp;Yifan Li ,&nbsp;Xiaohai Tian ,&nbsp;Yunbo Zhang ,&nbsp;Lixiao Nie","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110260","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2025.110260","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Context&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The rice-wheat rotation system (R-W) is a cornerstone of China's food security. However, while the conventional high-input, high-output agricultural model has successfully boosted crop yields, it has also exacerbated resource depletion and environmental degradation. There is an urgent need for an integrated evaluation framework that can holistically assess different production models to identify more sustainable alternatives.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Objective&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;This study conducts a comprehensive sustainability assessment of three common rice-wheat rotation systems (R-W) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River: dry direct-seeded rice-wheat (DR-W), wet direct-seeded rice-wheat (W&lt;em&gt;R&lt;/em&gt;-W), and transplanted rice-wheat (TR-W). The objective is to elucidate sustainability differentials among these systems and identify optimal rotation patterns that balance high yields with long-term environmental sustainability.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Field experiments were conducted during the 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 growing seasons to systematically compare yields and emergy-associated indicators across the three R-W systems, using a global emergy baseline of 1.20 × 10&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt; sej yr&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt;. Additionally, principal component analysis and the membership function model were employed to assess the sustainability performance of the different R-W.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Results showed that annual yields of TR-W were 5.05–18.46 and 5.95–12.85 % higher than those of DR-W and W&lt;em&gt;R&lt;/em&gt;-W, respectively, because both transplanted rice and its subsequent wheat were more productive. Emergy inputs in R-W were concentrated in the rice season and highly dependent on non-renewable resources. Groundwater, nitrogen fertilizer, and diesel were three key resources with the highest emergy inputs in R-W. Although DR-W had lower total emergy output than W&lt;em&gt;R&lt;/em&gt;-W and TR-W, its net output and unit value were higher due to lower inputs. The emergy self-support ratio, emergy yield ratio, and environmental load ratio of the DR-W were all lower than those of the W&lt;em&gt;R&lt;/em&gt;-W and TR-W, whereas the opposite was true for the emergy investment ratio, emergy renewability, and emergy sustainability index. The DR-W had a higher comprehensive evaluation value than the W&lt;em&gt;R&lt;/em&gt;-W and TR-W.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusions&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Although the annual yield of the DR-W is lower than that of the TR-W, it demonstrates outstanding performance across multiple emergy-based sustainability indicators, thereby achieving a more favorable equilibrium by maintaining acceptable yield levels while significantly enhancing sustainability.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Significance&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;We recommend that the DR-W be prioritized as the preferred rice-wheat rotation mode in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The findings provide strong evidence for policymakers to establish targeted subsidy programs. To improve the lo","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"337 ","pages":"Article 110260"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145598570","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":"2026-03-01","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}