Pub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092262
P. Win, H. Park, Y. Kuk
Synthetic herbicides have negatively impacted biological organisms and human health. Thus, nonsynthetic herbicides for weed control are needed in organic and conventional agriculture. Nonsynthetic products such as vinegar and detergents are increasingly becoming popular in crop disease treatment, as well as controlling insects and weeds. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the herbicidal efficacy of various nonsynthetic products using different application methods. Various nonsynthetic products were applied to grass and broadleaf weeds at 1%, 3%, 5%, and 10% concentrations to test their herbicidal efficacy, and two plant extracts were used as adjuvants. In addition, the inhibitory effects of selected brown rice vinegar and effective microorganisms (EM) powder soap on grass and broadleaf weeds were compared to the inhibitory effects of other vinegars and EM powder soaps. Of the nine various natural products tested, brown rice vinegar and EM powder soap at 5% concentrations were the only applications to completely control grass and broadleaf weeds in Petri dish bioassays. In greenhouse conditions, the shoot fresh weight of Eclipta prostrata, Solanum nigrum, Persicaria hydropier, and Portulaca oleracea was completely inhibited when soil applications of EM powder soap at 10% concentrations were used. EM powder soap was more effective in controlling grass and broadleaf weeds than brown rice vinegar. In addition, brown rice vinegar and EM powder soap did not appear to last long in soil. Two-time application methods were more effective in controlling all weed species than one-time application methods. However, no synergism effects were observed when brown rice vinegar and EM powder soap were combined with other natural products. Brown rice vinegar and EM powder soap did not show adjuvant effects when combined with plant extracts, which can sometimes create better contact with or penetration of the weeds. Thus, weeds growing alongside transplanted vegetable crops can be effectively controlled with brown rice vinegar and EM powder soap by using soil applications in row, either individually or combined together and with either one or two applications.
{"title":"Control Efficacy of Natural Products on Broadleaf and Grass Weeds Using Various Application Methods","authors":"P. Win, H. Park, Y. Kuk","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092262","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092262","url":null,"abstract":"Synthetic herbicides have negatively impacted biological organisms and human health. Thus, nonsynthetic herbicides for weed control are needed in organic and conventional agriculture. Nonsynthetic products such as vinegar and detergents are increasingly becoming popular in crop disease treatment, as well as controlling insects and weeds. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the herbicidal efficacy of various nonsynthetic products using different application methods. Various nonsynthetic products were applied to grass and broadleaf weeds at 1%, 3%, 5%, and 10% concentrations to test their herbicidal efficacy, and two plant extracts were used as adjuvants. In addition, the inhibitory effects of selected brown rice vinegar and effective microorganisms (EM) powder soap on grass and broadleaf weeds were compared to the inhibitory effects of other vinegars and EM powder soaps. Of the nine various natural products tested, brown rice vinegar and EM powder soap at 5% concentrations were the only applications to completely control grass and broadleaf weeds in Petri dish bioassays. In greenhouse conditions, the shoot fresh weight of Eclipta prostrata, Solanum nigrum, Persicaria hydropier, and Portulaca oleracea was completely inhibited when soil applications of EM powder soap at 10% concentrations were used. EM powder soap was more effective in controlling grass and broadleaf weeds than brown rice vinegar. In addition, brown rice vinegar and EM powder soap did not appear to last long in soil. Two-time application methods were more effective in controlling all weed species than one-time application methods. However, no synergism effects were observed when brown rice vinegar and EM powder soap were combined with other natural products. Brown rice vinegar and EM powder soap did not show adjuvant effects when combined with plant extracts, which can sometimes create better contact with or penetration of the weeds. Thus, weeds growing alongside transplanted vegetable crops can be effectively controlled with brown rice vinegar and EM powder soap by using soil applications in row, either individually or combined together and with either one or two applications.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44583556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092261
Bhawana Bhattarai, C. Walker, Ashley J. Wallace, J. Nuttall, G. Hepworth, J. Panozzo, D. Partington, G. Fitzgerald
Storing lentil is a strategy used by growers to manage price volatility. However, studies investigating the impact of storage conditions on the market and end use properties of lentil are limited. This study examined the effects of storage temperature (4, 15, 25, and 35 °C) and grain moisture (10 and 14%, w/w) on traits related to market (seed coat colour), viability (germination capacity), and end use properties (hydration capacity, milling efficiency, and cooking quality) in four red lentil cultivars (PBA Bolt, PBA Hallmark, PBA Hurricane, PBA Jumbo2) over 360 days. Storing lentil at 14% moisture content and 35 °C significantly (p = 0.05) darkened seed coat after 30 days, caused complete loss of viability within 180 days and reduced cooking quality (cooked firmness) after 120 days across all tested cultivars. Storing lentil at 10% moisture content and 35 °C reduced hydration capacity after 30 days, and milling efficiency after 120 days across all cultivars tested. PBA Jumbo2 exhibited a higher rate of degradation in hydration capacity and cooking quality, and a lower rate of degradation in the other traits studied. Storing lentil at ≤15 °C prevented degradation of all quality traits. These findings will support improved lentil storage protocols to maintain quality and improve economic outcomes for the pulse industry.
{"title":"Storage Temperature and Grain Moisture Effects on Market and End Use Properties of Red Lentil","authors":"Bhawana Bhattarai, C. Walker, Ashley J. Wallace, J. Nuttall, G. Hepworth, J. Panozzo, D. Partington, G. Fitzgerald","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092261","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092261","url":null,"abstract":"Storing lentil is a strategy used by growers to manage price volatility. However, studies investigating the impact of storage conditions on the market and end use properties of lentil are limited. This study examined the effects of storage temperature (4, 15, 25, and 35 °C) and grain moisture (10 and 14%, w/w) on traits related to market (seed coat colour), viability (germination capacity), and end use properties (hydration capacity, milling efficiency, and cooking quality) in four red lentil cultivars (PBA Bolt, PBA Hallmark, PBA Hurricane, PBA Jumbo2) over 360 days. Storing lentil at 14% moisture content and 35 °C significantly (p = 0.05) darkened seed coat after 30 days, caused complete loss of viability within 180 days and reduced cooking quality (cooked firmness) after 120 days across all tested cultivars. Storing lentil at 10% moisture content and 35 °C reduced hydration capacity after 30 days, and milling efficiency after 120 days across all cultivars tested. PBA Jumbo2 exhibited a higher rate of degradation in hydration capacity and cooking quality, and a lower rate of degradation in the other traits studied. Storing lentil at ≤15 °C prevented degradation of all quality traits. These findings will support improved lentil storage protocols to maintain quality and improve economic outcomes for the pulse industry.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42853422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092264
A. Ishida, I. Ogiwara, Sakae Suzuki
Growing quality seedlings is a challenge for sustainable cacao production as the survival rate of young seedlings is strongly influenced by environmental factors that affect the productivity of cacao farmers. In this study, cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) seedlings were cultivated in a nursery, and the effects of elevated CO2 concentrations (approximately 800 ppm) applied to cacao seedlings during daytime (6:00–17:59) on the root growth, morphology, and leaf photosynthetic capacity were examined. Treatment with elevated CO2 significantly improved root growth, dry matter weight, and root/shoot ratio. Three-dimensional imaging of roots showed that lateral roots grew longer horizontally, lateral roots and fine roots were distributed over a larger area, and root surface and root volume increased significantly under elevated CO2 treatment. Accurate quantification of root morphology using X-ray CT indicated that the treatment with elevated CO2 concentrations may significantly affect root quality during the seedling stage by expanding the distribution range of lateral and fine roots, which increases the ability of lateral roots to elongate and absorb water and nutrients from the superficial layers. The photosynthetic characteristics of the aboveground leaves of cacao seedlings exposed to elevated CO2 concentrations showed a tendency to adapt to elevated CO2 concentrations by increasing light-use efficiency and CO2-use efficiency. Therefore, the treatment of cacao seedlings with elevated CO2 concentrations improved the growth quality of seedlings due to the characteristics of the roots as large sinks.
{"title":"Elevated CO2 Influences the Growth, Root Morphology, and Leaf Photosynthesis of Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) Seedlings","authors":"A. Ishida, I. Ogiwara, Sakae Suzuki","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092264","url":null,"abstract":"Growing quality seedlings is a challenge for sustainable cacao production as the survival rate of young seedlings is strongly influenced by environmental factors that affect the productivity of cacao farmers. In this study, cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) seedlings were cultivated in a nursery, and the effects of elevated CO2 concentrations (approximately 800 ppm) applied to cacao seedlings during daytime (6:00–17:59) on the root growth, morphology, and leaf photosynthetic capacity were examined. Treatment with elevated CO2 significantly improved root growth, dry matter weight, and root/shoot ratio. Three-dimensional imaging of roots showed that lateral roots grew longer horizontally, lateral roots and fine roots were distributed over a larger area, and root surface and root volume increased significantly under elevated CO2 treatment. Accurate quantification of root morphology using X-ray CT indicated that the treatment with elevated CO2 concentrations may significantly affect root quality during the seedling stage by expanding the distribution range of lateral and fine roots, which increases the ability of lateral roots to elongate and absorb water and nutrients from the superficial layers. The photosynthetic characteristics of the aboveground leaves of cacao seedlings exposed to elevated CO2 concentrations showed a tendency to adapt to elevated CO2 concentrations by increasing light-use efficiency and CO2-use efficiency. Therefore, the treatment of cacao seedlings with elevated CO2 concentrations improved the growth quality of seedlings due to the characteristics of the roots as large sinks.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44617360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092260
M. E. Ávila-Salem, H. Aponte, F. Montesdeoca, Narcisa Urgiles Gómez, Dayana Cruz, M. Orellana, Katherine Pacheco, S. Alvarado Ochoa, J. Espinosa, F. Borie, P. Cornejo
Soil biological properties are sensitive indicators of soil quality changes due to perturbations occurred under agricultural management. The effects of contrasting tillage, increasing nitrogen fertilization doses, and crop rotations [e.g., bean, maize, bean (BMB) and bean, amaranth, bean (BAB)] on soil physicochemical and biological properties in an Andean soil from Ecuadorian highlands were evaluated in this study. Acid phosphatase, β-Glucosidase, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis, microbial biomass carbon (Cmic), soil basal respiration (BR), arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spore density, total glomalin content (TGRSP), and soil physicochemical properties were analyzed. Conventional tillage (CT) and crop rotation showed significant effects on soil physicochemical and biological properties. Towards the final crop rotations, no-tillage (NT) promoted BR, TGRSP, and higher AMF spore density in both crop rotations; the Cmic kept stable along time in BMB and BAB, while BR doubled its value when compared to CT. Results indicated that the AMF spore density increased by 308% at the end of the BMB, and 461% at the end of the BAB, while TGRSP increased by 18% and 32% at the end of BMB and BAB, respectively. Biological traits demonstrated to be strongly associated to the organic matter accumulation originated from crop residues under the NT post-harvest which improved soil moisture, biological activity, and AMF interaction. The conservative soil management system has definitively improved general soil properties when compared to soil conditions under the intensive soil management system in this research.
{"title":"Noticeable Shifts in Soil Physicochemical and Biological Properties after Contrasting Tillage Management in Crop Rotations of Bean, Maize, and Amaranth in Ecuadorian Highland Soils","authors":"M. E. Ávila-Salem, H. Aponte, F. Montesdeoca, Narcisa Urgiles Gómez, Dayana Cruz, M. Orellana, Katherine Pacheco, S. Alvarado Ochoa, J. Espinosa, F. Borie, P. Cornejo","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092260","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092260","url":null,"abstract":"Soil biological properties are sensitive indicators of soil quality changes due to perturbations occurred under agricultural management. The effects of contrasting tillage, increasing nitrogen fertilization doses, and crop rotations [e.g., bean, maize, bean (BMB) and bean, amaranth, bean (BAB)] on soil physicochemical and biological properties in an Andean soil from Ecuadorian highlands were evaluated in this study. Acid phosphatase, β-Glucosidase, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis, microbial biomass carbon (Cmic), soil basal respiration (BR), arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spore density, total glomalin content (TGRSP), and soil physicochemical properties were analyzed. Conventional tillage (CT) and crop rotation showed significant effects on soil physicochemical and biological properties. Towards the final crop rotations, no-tillage (NT) promoted BR, TGRSP, and higher AMF spore density in both crop rotations; the Cmic kept stable along time in BMB and BAB, while BR doubled its value when compared to CT. Results indicated that the AMF spore density increased by 308% at the end of the BMB, and 461% at the end of the BAB, while TGRSP increased by 18% and 32% at the end of BMB and BAB, respectively. Biological traits demonstrated to be strongly associated to the organic matter accumulation originated from crop residues under the NT post-harvest which improved soil moisture, biological activity, and AMF interaction. The conservative soil management system has definitively improved general soil properties when compared to soil conditions under the intensive soil management system in this research.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47540555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092259
Jiayu Ye, Xuefen Zhong, M. Harrison, Kai Kang, Tian Sheng, Cheng Shang, Chunhua Wang, Junxia Deng, Liying Huang, Xiaohai Tian, Ke Liu, Yunbo Zhang
Superior yields of super hybrid rice have demonstrably contributed to contemporary food security. Despite this, the extent to which intensive nitrogen fertilizer requirements of such crops have impacted on soil health and microbial communities primarily remains unchartered territory, evoking questions of sustainability. Here, we examine how four management treatments (zero fertilizer, CK; farm practice, FP; high-yield and high-efficiency, HYHE; and super-high-yield management, SHY) influenced the grain yields, soil biodiversity and community strata underpinning soil health of an elite super hybrid rice variety (Y-liangyou 900). We show that SHY treatments increased yields, altered soil physicochemical properties, and fostered greater biodiversity and soil bacteria and fungi abundance, while FP, HYHE and SHY treatments transformed community bacteria and fungi strata. Environmental regulators of bacterial and fungal communities differed widely, with bacterial communities most closely associated with soil organic carbon (SOC) and NH4+-N, and with fungal communities more related to available phosphorus. We show that alpha diversity of bacteria and fungi and community composition of fungi were positively correlated with yield, but bacterial community composition was negatively correlated with yield. Our work clearly exemplifies the nexus between appropriate farm and landscape management in enabling soil health and driving consistently high yields, of which both are required for sustainable food security.
{"title":"Towards Improved Grain Yield and Soil Microbial Communities of Super Hybrid Rice through Sustainable Management","authors":"Jiayu Ye, Xuefen Zhong, M. Harrison, Kai Kang, Tian Sheng, Cheng Shang, Chunhua Wang, Junxia Deng, Liying Huang, Xiaohai Tian, Ke Liu, Yunbo Zhang","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092259","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092259","url":null,"abstract":"Superior yields of super hybrid rice have demonstrably contributed to contemporary food security. Despite this, the extent to which intensive nitrogen fertilizer requirements of such crops have impacted on soil health and microbial communities primarily remains unchartered territory, evoking questions of sustainability. Here, we examine how four management treatments (zero fertilizer, CK; farm practice, FP; high-yield and high-efficiency, HYHE; and super-high-yield management, SHY) influenced the grain yields, soil biodiversity and community strata underpinning soil health of an elite super hybrid rice variety (Y-liangyou 900). We show that SHY treatments increased yields, altered soil physicochemical properties, and fostered greater biodiversity and soil bacteria and fungi abundance, while FP, HYHE and SHY treatments transformed community bacteria and fungi strata. Environmental regulators of bacterial and fungal communities differed widely, with bacterial communities most closely associated with soil organic carbon (SOC) and NH4+-N, and with fungal communities more related to available phosphorus. We show that alpha diversity of bacteria and fungi and community composition of fungi were positively correlated with yield, but bacterial community composition was negatively correlated with yield. Our work clearly exemplifies the nexus between appropriate farm and landscape management in enabling soil health and driving consistently high yields, of which both are required for sustainable food security.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48816039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-27DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092242
Wenqing Xu, Weikai Li, Liwei Wang, M. Pompelli
Pests and diseases significantly impact the quality and yield of maize. As a result, it is crucial to conduct disease diagnosis and identification for timely intervention and treatment of maize pests and diseases, ultimately enhancing the quality and economic efficiency of maize production. In this study, we present an enhanced maize pest identification model based on ResNet50. The objective was to achieve efficient and accurate identification of maize pests and diseases. By utilizing convolution and pooling operations for extracting shallow-edge features and compressing data, we introduced additional effective channels (environment–cognition–action) into the residual network module. This step addressed the issue of network degradation, establishes connections between channels, and facilitated the extraction of crucial deep features. Finally, experimental validation was performed to achieve 96.02% recognition accuracy using the ResNet50 model. This study successfully achieved the recognition of various maize pests and diseases, including maize leaf blight, Helminthosporium maydis, gray leaf spot, rust disease, stem borer, and corn armyworm. These results offer valuable insights for the intelligent control and management of maize pests and diseases.
{"title":"Enhancing Corn Pest and Disease Recognition through Deep Learning: A Comprehensive Analysis","authors":"Wenqing Xu, Weikai Li, Liwei Wang, M. Pompelli","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092242","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092242","url":null,"abstract":"Pests and diseases significantly impact the quality and yield of maize. As a result, it is crucial to conduct disease diagnosis and identification for timely intervention and treatment of maize pests and diseases, ultimately enhancing the quality and economic efficiency of maize production. In this study, we present an enhanced maize pest identification model based on ResNet50. The objective was to achieve efficient and accurate identification of maize pests and diseases. By utilizing convolution and pooling operations for extracting shallow-edge features and compressing data, we introduced additional effective channels (environment–cognition–action) into the residual network module. This step addressed the issue of network degradation, establishes connections between channels, and facilitated the extraction of crucial deep features. Finally, experimental validation was performed to achieve 96.02% recognition accuracy using the ResNet50 model. This study successfully achieved the recognition of various maize pests and diseases, including maize leaf blight, Helminthosporium maydis, gray leaf spot, rust disease, stem borer, and corn armyworm. These results offer valuable insights for the intelligent control and management of maize pests and diseases.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48458407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-27DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092254
Chunxia Li, Guoyin Yuan, Lin Qi, Youjun Li, Sifan Cheng, Guanzheng Shang, T. Kou, Yuyi Li
Small changes in soil aggregates-associated organic carbon and soil nitrogen (N) can induce huge fluctuations in greenhouse gas emissions and soil fertility. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the responses to long-term continuous rotation systems, especially in N-fixing and non-N-fixing crop wheat in terms of the distribution of soil aggregates and the storage of soil carbon (C) and N in aggregates in the semiarid calcareous soil of Central China. This information is critical for advancing knowledge on C and N sequestration of soil aggregates in rainfed crop rotation systems. Our aim was to determine which legume (soybean (Glycine max)– or mung bean (Vigna radiata)–wheat (Triticum aestivum) rotation practice is more conducive to the formation of good soil structure and C and N fixation. A 10-year field experiment, including a soybean (Glycine max)–winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) rotation (SWR) with yield increments of 2020 compared to 2010 achieving 18.28% (soybean) and 26.73% (wheat), respectively, and a mung bean (Vigna radiata)–winter wheat rotation (MWR) achieving 32.66% (mung bean) and 27.38% (wheat), as well as farmland fallow, was conducted in Henan Province, China. The soil organic carbon (SOC), N content in the soil, and the soil aggregates were investigated. Legume–wheat rotation cropping enhanced the proportion of the >2 mm soil fractions and reduced the <0.053 mm silt + clay in the 0–40 cm soil profile. In the 0–30 cm soil layer, the SWR had a greater increment of the >2 mm aggregate fractions than the MWR. Two legume–winter wheat rotations enhanced the C and N sequestration that varied with soil depths and size fractions of the aggregate. In contrast, the MWR had greater SOC stocks in all fractions of all sizes in the 0–40 cm soil layers. In addition, the greater storage of N in the macro-, micro-, and silt + clay fractions was observed in the 0–30 cm layers; the MWR enhanced the C/N ratios in most of the size aggregates compared with the SWR. The MWR cropping system is more beneficial to the formation of good soil structure and the increasement of C and N reserves in soil. Thus, these findings show that mung bean, in contrast with soybean in the legume–wheat rotation system of a semiarid temperate zone, may offer soil quality improvement.
{"title":"Mung Bean Is Better Than Soybean in the Legume–Wheat Rotation System for Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Sequestration in Calcareous Soils of a Semiarid Region","authors":"Chunxia Li, Guoyin Yuan, Lin Qi, Youjun Li, Sifan Cheng, Guanzheng Shang, T. Kou, Yuyi Li","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092254","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092254","url":null,"abstract":"Small changes in soil aggregates-associated organic carbon and soil nitrogen (N) can induce huge fluctuations in greenhouse gas emissions and soil fertility. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the responses to long-term continuous rotation systems, especially in N-fixing and non-N-fixing crop wheat in terms of the distribution of soil aggregates and the storage of soil carbon (C) and N in aggregates in the semiarid calcareous soil of Central China. This information is critical for advancing knowledge on C and N sequestration of soil aggregates in rainfed crop rotation systems. Our aim was to determine which legume (soybean (Glycine max)– or mung bean (Vigna radiata)–wheat (Triticum aestivum) rotation practice is more conducive to the formation of good soil structure and C and N fixation. A 10-year field experiment, including a soybean (Glycine max)–winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) rotation (SWR) with yield increments of 2020 compared to 2010 achieving 18.28% (soybean) and 26.73% (wheat), respectively, and a mung bean (Vigna radiata)–winter wheat rotation (MWR) achieving 32.66% (mung bean) and 27.38% (wheat), as well as farmland fallow, was conducted in Henan Province, China. The soil organic carbon (SOC), N content in the soil, and the soil aggregates were investigated. Legume–wheat rotation cropping enhanced the proportion of the >2 mm soil fractions and reduced the <0.053 mm silt + clay in the 0–40 cm soil profile. In the 0–30 cm soil layer, the SWR had a greater increment of the >2 mm aggregate fractions than the MWR. Two legume–winter wheat rotations enhanced the C and N sequestration that varied with soil depths and size fractions of the aggregate. In contrast, the MWR had greater SOC stocks in all fractions of all sizes in the 0–40 cm soil layers. In addition, the greater storage of N in the macro-, micro-, and silt + clay fractions was observed in the 0–30 cm layers; the MWR enhanced the C/N ratios in most of the size aggregates compared with the SWR. The MWR cropping system is more beneficial to the formation of good soil structure and the increasement of C and N reserves in soil. Thus, these findings show that mung bean, in contrast with soybean in the legume–wheat rotation system of a semiarid temperate zone, may offer soil quality improvement.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41551346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-27DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092249
Yuhao Deng, Meijie Kuang, Z. Hei, Jiawen Zhong, A. Abdo, Hui Wei, Jiaen Zhang, Huimin Xiang
There have been few studies on the impact of nitrogen deposition on paddy field ecosystem; therefore, we evaluated the effects of different N deposition levels (0, 40, and 120 kg N·ha−1) with the conventional nitrogen rate (180 kg N·ha−1) on rice field ecosystem through two-season experiments. The results showed that 40 and 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition had no significant effect on rice yield, although the rice grains per panicle and the 1000-grain weight increased. The 40 and 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition levels had no significant effect on rice and soil total carbon/total nitrogen (TC/TN) in the two-season experiment; however, 40 and 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition significantly increased TP content of the rice root and soil in a short time, and continuous 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition significantly decreased TP content of the rice root and significantly increased TP content of the rice stem. In addition, nitrogen deposition significantly reduced total carbon/total phosphorus (TC/TP) and total nitrogen/total phosphorus (TN/TP) in the soil. The activities of soil acid phosphatase (S-ACP), β-glucosidase (S-β-GC), and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosidase (S-NAG) increased under 40 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition, while the activities of S-β-GC and S-NAG decreased under 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition compared with 40 kg·ha−1. The microbial carbon, microbial nitrogen, microbial phosphorus, and fungal microbial biomass reduced under 40 and 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition. These findings suggest that, under short-term N deposition, rice and soil can adjust the C, N, P, and even the nutrient balance by themselves; however, continuous nitrogen deposition may have adverse reactions to microorganisms, thereby disrupting this balance and ultimately leading to the deterioration of paddy soil environment and a reduction in rice yield in the long term.
氮素沉降对稻田生态系统影响的研究较少;为此,本研究通过两季试验,评价了不同N沉降水平(0、40和120 kg N·ha−1)和常规施氮量(180 kg N·ha−1)对稻田生态系统的影响。结果表明,40和120 kg·ha−1氮肥处理对水稻产量影响不显著,但水稻单穗粒数和千粒重增加;40和120 kg·ha−1氮沉降水平对水稻和土壤全碳/全氮(TC/TN)无显著影响;40和120 kg·ha−1施氮在短时间内显著提高了水稻根系和土壤全磷含量,连续120 kg·ha−1施氮显著降低了水稻根系全磷含量,显著提高了水稻茎部全磷含量。此外,氮沉降显著降低了土壤中总碳/总磷(TC/TP)和总氮/总磷(TN/TP)。土壤酸性磷酸酶(S- acp)、β-葡萄糖苷酶(S-β-GC)和n -乙酰-β- d -葡萄糖苷酶(S- nag)活性在40 kg·ha−1施氮处理下显著升高,而S-β-GC和S- nag活性在120 kg·ha−1施氮处理下较40 kg·ha−1施氮处理降低。氮沉降40和120 kg·ha−1时,微生物碳、微生物氮、微生物磷和真菌微生物生物量减少。上述结果表明,短期施氮条件下,水稻和土壤可以自行调节碳、氮、磷甚至养分平衡;然而,持续的氮沉降可能会对微生物产生不良反应,从而破坏这种平衡,最终导致水稻土环境恶化,长期导致水稻减产。
{"title":"Simulated Nitrogen Deposition Decreases the Ratios of Soil C to P and N to P, Changes Soil Enzyme Activity, and Reduces Soil Microbial Biomass in Paddy Soil in Southern China","authors":"Yuhao Deng, Meijie Kuang, Z. Hei, Jiawen Zhong, A. Abdo, Hui Wei, Jiaen Zhang, Huimin Xiang","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092249","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092249","url":null,"abstract":"There have been few studies on the impact of nitrogen deposition on paddy field ecosystem; therefore, we evaluated the effects of different N deposition levels (0, 40, and 120 kg N·ha−1) with the conventional nitrogen rate (180 kg N·ha−1) on rice field ecosystem through two-season experiments. The results showed that 40 and 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition had no significant effect on rice yield, although the rice grains per panicle and the 1000-grain weight increased. The 40 and 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition levels had no significant effect on rice and soil total carbon/total nitrogen (TC/TN) in the two-season experiment; however, 40 and 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition significantly increased TP content of the rice root and soil in a short time, and continuous 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition significantly decreased TP content of the rice root and significantly increased TP content of the rice stem. In addition, nitrogen deposition significantly reduced total carbon/total phosphorus (TC/TP) and total nitrogen/total phosphorus (TN/TP) in the soil. The activities of soil acid phosphatase (S-ACP), β-glucosidase (S-β-GC), and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosidase (S-NAG) increased under 40 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition, while the activities of S-β-GC and S-NAG decreased under 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition compared with 40 kg·ha−1. The microbial carbon, microbial nitrogen, microbial phosphorus, and fungal microbial biomass reduced under 40 and 120 kg·ha−1 nitrogen deposition. These findings suggest that, under short-term N deposition, rice and soil can adjust the C, N, P, and even the nutrient balance by themselves; however, continuous nitrogen deposition may have adverse reactions to microorganisms, thereby disrupting this balance and ultimately leading to the deterioration of paddy soil environment and a reduction in rice yield in the long term.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48903677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-27DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092247
Sen Chang, Zhen-Zhong Dai, Xing Wang, Zhi-Yuan Zhu, Yong-Zhong Feng
The Loess Plateau region is characterized by fragmented habitats and ecological vulnerability. Analyzing the changes in land use and ecological risk within the region is of great significance for promoting high-quality development of the Loess Plateau. The study utilized land use data from 2000, 2010, and 2020 in the Loess Plateau region to assess the spatio-temporal variation in land use patterns and landscape ecological risks, aiming to provide valuable references and decision support for ecological risk management and sustainable development in the area. The results indicated that the main land use types in the region are grassland and cropland. From 2000 to 2020, forest, grassland, and water areas increased by 1.39 × 106, 6.25 × 105, and 7.09 × 104 ha, respectively. The impervious area increased rapidly, growing from 9.77 × 104 ha in 2000 to 1.85 × 106 ha in 2020. The cropland decreased by 1.82 × 106 ha from 2000 to 2020, with 4.61 × 105, 4.95 × 106, and 8.91 × 105 ha of cropland converted to forest, grassland, and impervious area, respectively. The fragmentation of the ecological landscape in the region has decreased, and the diversity and richness of landscape types have increased. The fragmentation of cropland, forest, and grassland has decreased, and landscape patches have become more concentrated. High-value areas of landscape ecological risk in the region show a trend of continuous aggregation, altering the dispersion pattern of high-risk areas. Currently, high-risk areas of landscape ecology in the Loess Plateau region are mainly concentrated in northern Shaanxi and some areas along the Yellow River, such as Yulin, Yan’an, Ordos, and others. Currently, the ecological environment remains a bottleneck constraining the high-quality development of the Loess Plateau. It is necessary to persist in coordinated governance and ecological engineering construction, and improving the quality of ecological environment is a prerequisite for consolidating the social foundation and leading the high-quality development of the ecological industry on the Loess Plateau.
{"title":"Landscape Pattern Identification and Ecological Risk Assessment Employing Land Use Dynamics on the Loess Plateau","authors":"Sen Chang, Zhen-Zhong Dai, Xing Wang, Zhi-Yuan Zhu, Yong-Zhong Feng","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092247","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092247","url":null,"abstract":"The Loess Plateau region is characterized by fragmented habitats and ecological vulnerability. Analyzing the changes in land use and ecological risk within the region is of great significance for promoting high-quality development of the Loess Plateau. The study utilized land use data from 2000, 2010, and 2020 in the Loess Plateau region to assess the spatio-temporal variation in land use patterns and landscape ecological risks, aiming to provide valuable references and decision support for ecological risk management and sustainable development in the area. The results indicated that the main land use types in the region are grassland and cropland. From 2000 to 2020, forest, grassland, and water areas increased by 1.39 × 106, 6.25 × 105, and 7.09 × 104 ha, respectively. The impervious area increased rapidly, growing from 9.77 × 104 ha in 2000 to 1.85 × 106 ha in 2020. The cropland decreased by 1.82 × 106 ha from 2000 to 2020, with 4.61 × 105, 4.95 × 106, and 8.91 × 105 ha of cropland converted to forest, grassland, and impervious area, respectively. The fragmentation of the ecological landscape in the region has decreased, and the diversity and richness of landscape types have increased. The fragmentation of cropland, forest, and grassland has decreased, and landscape patches have become more concentrated. High-value areas of landscape ecological risk in the region show a trend of continuous aggregation, altering the dispersion pattern of high-risk areas. Currently, high-risk areas of landscape ecology in the Loess Plateau region are mainly concentrated in northern Shaanxi and some areas along the Yellow River, such as Yulin, Yan’an, Ordos, and others. Currently, the ecological environment remains a bottleneck constraining the high-quality development of the Loess Plateau. It is necessary to persist in coordinated governance and ecological engineering construction, and improving the quality of ecological environment is a prerequisite for consolidating the social foundation and leading the high-quality development of the ecological industry on the Loess Plateau.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42567160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-27DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092248
Fengquan Wu, Qi-yuan Tang, Lizhen Zhang, Jianping Cui, Liwen Tian, Rensong Guo, Liang Wang, Baiqing Chen, Na Zhang, Saif Ali, Tao Lin, Pingan Jiang
High-density planting is an effective technique to optimize yields of mulched cotton. On the other hand, deficit irrigation is an emerging water-saving strategy in cotton cultivation, especially suitable for arid and water-scarce areas. However, the relationships between deficit irrigation, high-density planting, and regulation mechanisms of canopy light radiation and light use efficiency (LUE) in cotton is not yet clear. To clarify the mechanism of light interception (LI) and the LUE of cotton canopies, three irrigation treatments [315 (50% Fc), 405 (75% Fc, farmers’ irrigation practice), and 495 mm (100% Fc), where Fc was the field capacity] with three plant densities [13.5, 18.0 (farmers’ planting practice), and 22.5 plants m2] were applied. The findings of this research revealed that, under deficit irrigation, the above-ground dry matter (ADM) was reduced by 5.05% compared to the farmers’ irrigation practice. Over both years and across all plant densities, LI and LUE under deficit irrigation decreased by 8.36% and 4.79%, respectively, relative to the farmers’ irrigation practices. In contrast, LI and LUE for the highest irrigation level increased by 10.59% and 5.23%, respectively. In the case of the interaction (plant density and irrigation level), the ADM under deficit irrigation and high-density combination increased by 7.69% compared to the control (farmers’ irrigation × sowing practices interaction effects). The LI and LUE also exhibited an increase in 1.63% and 6.34%, respectively. Notably, the LI effect of the middle and upper cotton canopy under film drip irrigation reached 70%. A lower irrigation level resulted in a higher percentage of LI in the lower canopy region. The leaf area index, light interception rate, and extinction coefficient escalated with the increase in plant density. Under deficit irrigation treatment, the LI of the 0–30 cm canopy in high plant density settings increased by 8.6% compared to the control (farmers’ irrigation × sowing practices interaction effects). In conclusion, deficit irrigation and increased plant density improved the interception of LI and LUE of cotton canopy. These findings may help the farmers to optimize their agricultural management strategies in water-deficient areas.
{"title":"Reducing Irrigation and Increasing Plant Density Enhance Both Light Interception and Light Use Efficiency in Cotton under Film Drip Irrigation","authors":"Fengquan Wu, Qi-yuan Tang, Lizhen Zhang, Jianping Cui, Liwen Tian, Rensong Guo, Liang Wang, Baiqing Chen, Na Zhang, Saif Ali, Tao Lin, Pingan Jiang","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092248","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092248","url":null,"abstract":"High-density planting is an effective technique to optimize yields of mulched cotton. On the other hand, deficit irrigation is an emerging water-saving strategy in cotton cultivation, especially suitable for arid and water-scarce areas. However, the relationships between deficit irrigation, high-density planting, and regulation mechanisms of canopy light radiation and light use efficiency (LUE) in cotton is not yet clear. To clarify the mechanism of light interception (LI) and the LUE of cotton canopies, three irrigation treatments [315 (50% Fc), 405 (75% Fc, farmers’ irrigation practice), and 495 mm (100% Fc), where Fc was the field capacity] with three plant densities [13.5, 18.0 (farmers’ planting practice), and 22.5 plants m2] were applied. The findings of this research revealed that, under deficit irrigation, the above-ground dry matter (ADM) was reduced by 5.05% compared to the farmers’ irrigation practice. Over both years and across all plant densities, LI and LUE under deficit irrigation decreased by 8.36% and 4.79%, respectively, relative to the farmers’ irrigation practices. In contrast, LI and LUE for the highest irrigation level increased by 10.59% and 5.23%, respectively. In the case of the interaction (plant density and irrigation level), the ADM under deficit irrigation and high-density combination increased by 7.69% compared to the control (farmers’ irrigation × sowing practices interaction effects). The LI and LUE also exhibited an increase in 1.63% and 6.34%, respectively. Notably, the LI effect of the middle and upper cotton canopy under film drip irrigation reached 70%. A lower irrigation level resulted in a higher percentage of LI in the lower canopy region. The leaf area index, light interception rate, and extinction coefficient escalated with the increase in plant density. Under deficit irrigation treatment, the LI of the 0–30 cm canopy in high plant density settings increased by 8.6% compared to the control (farmers’ irrigation × sowing practices interaction effects). In conclusion, deficit irrigation and increased plant density improved the interception of LI and LUE of cotton canopy. These findings may help the farmers to optimize their agricultural management strategies in water-deficient areas.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43632804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}