ACS agricultural science & technology最新文献

As a primary food cereal, maize (Zea mays L.) has been domesticated for thousands of years and undergoes four breeding stages to date, including Breeding 1.0 (experience breeding), Breeding 2.0 (experimental breeding), Breeding 3.0 (biological breeding), and Breeding 4.0 (intelligent breeding). In this review, we focus on the recent advances of modern breeding strategies and their applications in the maize Breeding 3.0 stage. These modern breeding strategies mainly include marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, genetic engineering, haploid induced breeding, gene editing, and synthetic biology, which act as breeding accelerators and lead to maize improvement in different important traits, such as male sterility, grain yield, grain quality, biotic and abiotic stress resistance, and nitrogen use efficiency. Furthermore, we also propose several promising breeding strategies in the next era of Breeding 4.0, which will improve maize production greatly for ensuring global food security.

Drought stress significantly affects plant growth and productivity, including sunflowers (Helianthus annuus L.). Superabsorbent hydrogels, specifically composed of dextrin and polyacrylamide, offer a potential solution to mitigate drought stress and enhance the biochemical traits of sunflowers. This study explored the impact of copolymer composition on the gel fraction, swelling behavior, water retention, morphology, and chemical structure of dextrin (Dix)/polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogels synthesized via radical polymerization. Results revealed that the 50/50 ratio of the Dix/PAAm hydrogel exhibited desirable characteristics, including a heterogeneous pore structure (approximately 100 μm) and higher water absorption capacity attributed to a greater Dix content. In a pot experiment, the (Dix/PAAm) hydrogel played a crucial role in alleviating the harmful effects of drought stress on the growth, chlorophyll content, fresh shoot weight, and pigments in sunflowers. The hydrogel application positively influenced these parameters by enhancing water retention, nutrient availability, and physiological responses to drought stress. Overall, these findings highlight the potential of the (Dix/PAAm) hydrogel as an effective tool for enhancing plant resilience to drought stress and promoting growth and biochemical traits in sunflowers.

In precision agriculture, nanotechnology has made significant contributions to the development of a smart cropping system through the support of unique properties of nanomaterials. Of the various nanomaterials, porous nanomaterials have an outstanding performance in building a sustainable delivery system for agrochemicals. In pesticide delivery, amorphous porous silica nanomaterials are considered as some of the most suitable options because of their easy synthesis processes, nontoxic nature, structural variation, tunable porous structure, physical and chemical stability, and ease of surface functionality. So far, multiple roles of these materials have been discussed in the literature; however, the influence of porous structure and structural variations toward developing a sustainable delivery system was not clear. A comprehensive review of the compatibility among the porous silica nanocarriers and pesticide molecules is also lacking. Thus, this review discusses the progress of porous amorphous silica nanomaterial synthesis, their structural variation, and surface modification for effective delivery of different pesticides to explore their potential as carriers.

Diuron (DU) is a kind of cotton defoliant with high toxicity and strong persistence that poses a serious environmental threat. DU has electroactive inertness and oxidation resistance, and there are only a few types of recognition elements, making its sensitive and specific detection critical. Herein, a novel molecularly imprinted polymer-based electrochemical (MIP-EC) sensor was developed by combing gold nanocages (AuNCs) with hollow-interior and porous walls with amino-functionalized reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (NH₂-rGO) with a large surface area and excellent conductivity. Then, DU-MIP was directly grown on the modified electrode by electropolymerization, while it displayed a high imprinted factor (6.91) and high reusability (at least 5 times). Significantly, the NH₂-rGO/AuNC nanocomposite could also enhance the recognition efficiency of DU-MIP, improving the analytical performances of the MIP-EC sensor, with the detection limit down to 4.3 ng/mL. In addition, this sensor exhibited high selectivity and rapid elution/recombination, and a simple construction process was utilized to detect DU in cotton and soil.

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important grain crop worldwide and is also a crucial plant for basic research on biological agriculture. Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) oxidizes endogenous or exogenous aldehydes into carboxylic acids to reduce the toxicity of aldehydes and respond to stress. Here, a total of 35 members of the ALDH gene were reidentified and renamed in the maize genome. These genes were distributed on 10 chromosomes with uneven distribution and divided into 9 ALDH families. The gene structure and protein domain were found to be mostly conserved in separate classes. The analysis of promoter cis-elements showed that ZmALDHs are involved in different biological processes of plant development. Further, the 15 ZmALDH genes with high expression levels in maize anthers were identified, implying their potential roles in male fertility. Our research provides potential value for discovering male sterility genes that can contribute to maize hybrid seed production.

Grain loss and waste (GLW) presents formidable challenges to global food security, sustainability, and efforts to combat climate change. This study delves into the evolution of GLW research themes spanning from 1996 to 2022, employing bibliographic couplings, keyword co-occurrence, and keyphrase analysis to examine 1,570 articles sourced from the Web of Science (WOS) database. Our investigation encompasses bibliometric indicators, the temporal progression of publications and citations, the impact of international collaborations among countries and institutions, influential publications, and the leading contributors on the global stage. By harnessing data from scholarly publications, this study offers a comprehensive exploration of GLW’s multifaceted dimensions, scrutinizing thematic shifts, regional variations, and the key stages of GLW from production to consumption within the food value chain. Our findings underscore the pivotal roles of technological innovations, dietary awareness, and the principles of a circular economy in curtailing GLW. As governments worldwide commit to sustainability objectives, addressing GLW emerges as a momentous opportunity for climate mitigation, enhanced food security, and the advancement of circular economy practices. This research contributes valuable insights for guiding future endeavors aimed at minimizing GLW within the food value chain.

Recently, China released its first 5-year plan for bioeconomy development, in which bioagriculture was identified as one of the five key development areas. It not only aims to cultivate new momentum for ensuring food security in China but also outlines a new direction for agro-biotechnology innovation and the development of the bioindustry. This paper elaborates on the significance of agriculture as a crucial application scenario in the future bioeconomy and analyzes the demand for agricultural biotechnology in the context of China’s food security. Additionally, it summarizes the development experiences of countries and regions, such as the United States and the European Union in the field of bioeconomy, including their strategic policies, leading technologies, and policy impacts. The paper further proposes specific ways to fully leverage the supportive role of bioeconomy in ensuring China’s food security. These methods encompass the enhancement of agricultural biotechnology innovation capabilities, the application of biotechnological achievements in agriculture, and the refinement of the regulatory framework for biotechnology.

Traditional cooling strategies for greenhouses commonly result in significant electricity consumption and a substantial release of carbon dioxide emissions. Considering the industrial fabrication process for the greenhouse covering film and the thermal management theory, we developed a composite greenhouse covering film that incorporates titanium dioxide into polyethylene to achieve near-infrared reflection. The film demonstrates an impressive near-infrared reflectance of 54.4% within the wavelength range of 780–2500 nm. A tunnel-type greenhouse demo comparative test results show that the composite film can effectively decrease the average temperature inside the greenhouse by 6.7 °C in comparison to the pure polyethylene film. The reduction implies a significant annual saving in cooling electricity at the national level of 2151912.3 MW h, along with an annual CO₂ emission reduction by 1250261.1 tons.

As one of the essential nutrients plants need to grow, phosphorus presents the drawback of immobilizing in high-Fe and Al soils. Therefore, it is necessary to properly manage P-containing fertilizers to optimize the crop nutrient amount and synchronize their plant uptake with the release of nutritional composition. Coated fertilizers can improve the availability of nutrients by reducing losses due to fixation or leaching. The present study investigated the effects of monoammonium phosphate (MAP) granules coated with a green and biodegradable castor oil-based polyurethane layer film (2 to 8% by weight) on plant development and P absorption. A greenhouse experiment with two crops as the test plants was performed. The study found a well-adjusted nutrition profile in both cultures with a continuous nutrient supply when mixing the different MAP-coated granules. Combining particles with different release rates can balance the slow-release effect of coating and nutrient absorption by plants, thereby allowing for a continuous nutrient supply from a single fertilization. Our results can support the design of more efficient controlled-released systems, providing a new approach to reducing the application and increasing the efficiency of phosphorus fertilizer. The presence of a coating improves the nutrient absorption of plants. At the same time, the coating used has good biocompatibility.