Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science最新文献

Due to the growing risk for water shortage during the summer season, grain sorghum has become a popular alternative to maize in most drought-prone areas of Hungary. A three-factorial model experiment was carried out between 28 May 2024 and 11 September 2024 in Keszthely (Hungary) in order to compare the responses of P8834 maize hybrid and RTG Huggo grain sorghum hybrid to weed infestation and different levels of reproductive stage water-deficit stress (50% and 30% water supply relative to the individual controls' water consumption). The treatments were set in a Thornthwaite-Mather type compensation evapotranspirometer, so water consumption could be controlled and monitored. Based on the results, weed interference affected all phenological and yield attributes of both species negatively, but the interaction of weed infestation and water treatment did not enhance relative grain yield loss neither in maize (p = 0.851) nor in grain sorghum (p = 0.28). Since temperature conditions during the reproductive stage were more favourable for grain sorghum, the general yield surplus for sorghum over maize (p < 0.001) was attributed to sorghum's better tolerance to temperature stress. The results also revealed that up to 50% water stress level, the yield stability and water use efficiency of grain sorghum were also better than those of maize, both in weed-free and weed-infested treatments. In conclusion, grain sorghum should be recommended as an alternative to maize in areas that are affected by extreme heat events and moderate water scarcity.

Soil nutrient cycling and availability in pastures are affected by warming and drought. These effects may be further enhanced in intensively managed/degraded systems due to altered microbial community size and composition. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi may help compensate for this climate-related disruption in nutrient cycling and availability by facilitating access to nutrients. However, the extent to which the interaction between warming and drought may affect AM fungal mediation of soil nutrient availability in degraded soil systems is unknown. To investigate this, we grew lucerne (Medicago sativa) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), with and without AM fungal inoculation (Rhizophagus irregularis), under ambient (26°C—aT) and elevated (30°C—eT) temperatures, and well-watered (100% soil water holding capacity (WHC)) and drought (40% WHC) conditions, in intact soil (non-degraded) and in gamma-irradiated sterilised soil (degraded soil). Soil microbial biomass C, N and P, nutrients (NO₃⁻, NH₄⁺ and PO₄³⁻) and enzyme activities were measured after 4 months of plant growth. Soil microbial biomass C, N and phosphorus decreased in degraded soils. Warming treatments decreased NO₃⁻ and PO₄³⁻ availability in degraded soil under lucerne, with these effects further intensified by AM fungi inoculation. In contrast, drought increased NH₄⁺ in degraded soils under lucerne and increased PO₄³⁻ in non-degraded soils under tall fescue. In non-degraded soils, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increased NH₄⁺ under lucerne and NO₃⁻ and PO₄³⁻ under tall fescue in warmed + drought soils, suggesting that AM fungi can enhance nutrient cycling under specific plant species and climate conditions when soil biota have not been degraded. In contrast, altered biological communities in degraded soils may have limited the ability of AM fungi to support nutrient availability. These results underscore the pivotal role of soil biological communities in modulating nutrient dynamics under climate stress. Overall, our findings suggest that AM fungal inoculation holds potential to improve nutrient cycling and plant performance under extreme climate conditions, but its effectiveness likely depends on both plant species and the composition of the soil biotic community.

Zhang, W., Y. Cheng, L. Jian, H. Wang, H. Li, Z. Shen, W. Ying, Z. Yin, Q. Zhang, and J. Du. 2025. “Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the Trihelix Gene Family in Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Under Salt and Drought Stress.” Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 211: e70038. https://doi.org/10.1111/jac.70038.

The published version incorrectly listed the affiliations of authors Yan Cheng and Zhengong Yin. The correct affiliations should be:

Yan Cheng: Institute of Economic Plant Research, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, Jilin 130000, China; Y.C.

Zhengong Yin: Crop Resources Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China; Z.Y.

We apologize for this error.

Soybean (Glycine max L.) forms a symbiotic relationship with compatible soil rhizobia, enabling biological nitrogen fixation. Among numerous factors, moisture deficit is a major challenge to soybean production due to its direct impact on the ability to fix nitrogen. The aim of this study was to assess whether effective rhizobia strains could alleviate the impact of early-onset drought stress during the vegetative growth of soybeans under field conditions. A 2-year field study was conducted in Wellington County, Ontario, Canada, examining three different rhizobia treatments, including low-nitrogen-fixing Bradyrhizobium elkanii USDA 76, high-nitrogen-fixing Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 110, and a commercial inoculant, compared to the uninoculated-0 N control and uninoculated-urea 150 kg N ha⁻¹ treatments, under irrigated and nonirrigated conditions. Data were collected at V2, R1, R3, R5 and R7 growth stages and at seed maturity. Results indicated that the number of nodules and nodule dry weight was reduced under drought stress. However, plants demonstrated recovery from these negative effects in the later part of the growing season with USDA 110 and commercial inoculant application, particularly following rainfall events. Therefore, soybeans exposed to drought during the early planting period up to ~R5 growth stage could still recover nitrogen fixation traits, as evidenced by increased nodule number and nodule dry weight. Higher levels of grain δ¹⁵N in rhizobia-inoculated plants under drought conditions in 2016, compared to the irrigated plants, confirmed the drought-impaired biological nitrogen fixation. However, effective rhizobia inoculants, such as commercial inoculants and USDA 110, demonstrated similar or even higher yields compared to urea-supplemented plants under drought conditions, underscoring their beneficial role in soybean production under challenging environments.

Water scarcity, elevated temperatures, as well as pests and diseases have been demonstrated to have a detrimental effect on the yield potential of mungbean (Vigna radiata). The cultivation of improved mungbean genotypes with regulated deficit irrigation (RDI), a water-saving irrigation strategy, has been identified as a promising approach to enhance yield stability of the crop and ensure food security. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify adaptation strategies and possible trade-offs to drought of mungbean genotypes under deficit irrigation and the effect on yield by investigating in particular assimilate re-allocation. Four genotypes (NM11, AVMU 1604, AVMU 1635, KPS2) were cultivated in a greenhouse under three treatments of RDI with depletion fractions as a percentage of total available soil water (TAW) of 0.45, 0.65, and 0.8, corresponding to a recommended irrigation schedule, moderate and severe water deficit, respectively. Samples were collected at the flowering and maturity stages, and the dry matter, dry matter partitioning, yield, harvest index, pod harvest index, water use efficiency, and carbon-13 isotope discrimination to estimate transpiration efficiency were determined. The study found that productivity (i.e., grain yield) was not lowered as a trade-off of adaptability to water deficit irrigation. The genotypes either did not respond to deficit irrigation (KPS2 and AVMU 1635) in terms of grain yield or exhibited increased remobilisation of assimilates, either from pod walls to seeds (NM11) or from vegetative plant parts to pods/seeds (AVMU 1604), thereby increasing yields by 38% and 52%, respectively, under water deficit. However, the genotype KPS2 demonstrated stable yields and the greatest harvest index/pod harvest index (36%/69%) across all RDI treatments, suggesting superior adaptability to fluctuating water availability and efficient resource allocation, providing a suitable choice for a range of environmental conditions.

Water and nitrogen (N) limitations are major abiotic stress factors constraining cereal productivity, particularly when they coincide with critical growth stages. In boreal-nemoral environments, limited spring precipitation and high evaporative demand often lead to water scarcity, which in turn limits N uptake and assimilation. This study investigated the effects of early growth stage irrigation on wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend. Thell) performance under conditions of insufficient available N. Experiments were conducted in controlled conditions in a greenhouse with either irrigated or nonirrigated spring wheat that were either N fertilised (150 kg N ha⁻¹) or unfertilised (0 kg N ha⁻¹). Wheat grown under combined irrigation and N supply exhibited significantly greater water and N uptake, photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance, compared to treatments with limited water and/or N. Irrigation improved agronomic N use efficiency by 75%, fertiliser N recovery by 44%, and both N translocation and remobilisation efficiency by 16% compared with nonirrigated wheat. Nitrogen deficiency stress reduced fertile florets per spike, grain number, grain weight and final grain yield, but early-stage irrigation mitigated these effects. Key parameters for optimising N use efficiency included N uptake efficiency (R² = 0.78), utilisation efficiency (R² = 0.84) and grain N yield (R² = 0.79). In conclusion, early growth stage irrigation markedly improved N utilisation in conditions where limited water availability restricts spring wheat growth and yield formation.