ACS agricultural science & technology最新文献

The impacts of climate change, particularly extreme weather events, will increase the likelihood of crop failure in the future. As such, the need for the development of climate-resilient crops that increase agricultural efficiency and sustain sustainable land use is critical to food security. Conservation agriculture, including practices such as reduced tillage, continuous cover, and crop rotation, provides a foundation for safeguarding agricultural systems. To support the widespread adoption of these practices, it will be necessary to make technological advancements through machinery breakthroughs, automation, advanced genetics, and biotechnology. Here we review approaches that integrate biotechnology and new breeding techniques to protect the yield into a conservation framework to accelerate sustainable intensification. By designing crops to function in the optimal planting configurations, improved crop rotational systems, and smart soil nutrient management, we can grow even more with less.

Zein nanoparticles (ZNP) (189.4 ± 2.0 nm, +25.7 ± 0.9 mV) and lignin nanoparticles (LNP) (173.6 ± 0.9 nm, – 56.5 ± 2.8 mV) with loaded azoxystrobin (AZO) (5.2 ± 0.8 and 5.5 ± 0.7 wt %, respectively) were designed as antifungal delivery systems for seed treatments. Both particles followed pseudo-first-order kinetics for AZO release at 25 °C, with AZO releasing faster from ZNP. AZO-entrapped ZNP treatments produced the greatest yield (41.15 bushels), followed by empty LNP (40.35 bushels) for inoculated samples; these findings were comparable to yields achieved with the commercial AZO formulation, Dynasty. The stand per row feet for inoculated plants were significantly higher than the control, with the highest being Dynasty, AZO-entrapped ZNP, and AZO-entrapped LNP treatments (3.90, 3.74, and 2.53, respectively). All treatments, excluding empty ZNP, resulted in a statistically significant increase in yield and stand per row feet compared to the nontreated plants. ZNPs and LNPs developed herein for AZO delivery can be used as alternative and sustainable solutions for the delivery of other agrochemicals.

Chlorosis is a crucial factor affecting the normal growth of rice seedlings. Light intensity can significantly control chlorosis, but uncertainty about the key factors of chlorosis caused by light intensity still exists. The purpose of this work is to determine what causes the light intensity to affect chlorosis. Xiangzaoxian 24 was used as the test material to investigate the effects of light intensity on rice seedlings by setting five light intensity treatments, T1 (50 μmol m^–2 s^–1), T2 (100 μmol m^–2 s^–1), T3 (250 μmol m^–2 s^–1), T4 (500 μmol m^–2 s^–1), and T5 (750 μmol m^–2 s^–1). In this study, chlorophyll content, ascorbic acid (AsA) content, and related gene expression levels decreased, but the H₂O₂ content increased under lower or higher light intensity. Moreover, there was obvious chlorosis in rice seedlings in it. But there was no obvious chlorosis in rice seedlings at medium light intensity. We concluded that medium light intensity could promote AsA synthesis and thus reduce reactive oxygen species, and ultimately the rice seedlings stay green.

Heavy metal discharge is a major toxic environmental pollutant that creates highly unsustainable conditions for living organisms. They especially impact plants, where elevated concentrations of heavy metals deter growth and development. In addition, metal toxicity alters the cell membrane composition, which may lead to changes in its physiological activity. This study aims to analyze such alterations caused in the lipid content and fatty acid composition of cell membranes in the plant Sesbania grandiflora, under elevated concentrations of chromium. An experiment was carried out by spiking soil with different chromium concentrations, with and without the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). In order to identify agents that combat toxicity created by heavy metals, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) (a nitric oxide (NO) donor) was sprayed exogenously on the aerial part of the plant. The changes in the growth of the plant were observed over a period of 3 months, and the initial and final growth of the plant were compared at 30 and 90 days, respectively. GC–MS analysis was performed to identify the fatty acid methyl esters present in the chromium-contaminated plant samples. The experimental data depicted that the fatty acid content, phospholipid content, and glycolipid content decreased with rising concentration of chromium with EDTA, whereas toxicity was further controlled in plants supplied with exogenous nitric oxide through SNP. The lauric acid concentration increased in the presence of heavy metals and SNP compared to long-chain fatty acids. 20 C carbon eicosanoic fatty acids were present at higher levels than 18 C polyunsaturated fatty acids, showing the altered desaturase enzyme function and defective phospholipid synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum. Since the external application of SNP helps in alleviating chromium stress, this work highlights the usage of NO in effectively combating heavy metal stress in plants.

The pressure for agriculture security is a problem that affects human community at multiple levels, involving the production of agricultural commodities, the management of agricultural water and soil, and postharvest transport and storage. To date, agriculture security is increasingly becoming a challenge due to the abuse of chemicals, the indiscriminate discharge of wastewater, and the improper storage of agricultural products. As such, the determination and removal of hazardous contaminants in agricultural production chains are indispensable. As a fascinating semiconductor, molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), with controllable structure, appealing photoelectric properties, and superior physicochemical stability, is regarded as a promising material for the control of agricultural contaminants. This critical review summarizes the synthetic strategies for MoS₂ and related efforts for agricultural contaminant control. It begins with the synthetic methods of the materials based on different principles. Subsequently, the determination and removal strategies based on MoS₂ and its composites are discussed. The third part focuses on the description of MoS₂-based platforms for control of different agricultural contaminants (heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, antibiotics, and organic dyes). Finally, the challenges and potential opportunities for MoS₂ application in modern agriculture are discussed.

Nitrogen fertilization in agriculture has serious environmental consequences, including production of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O), pollution of groundwater with nitrate (NO₃^–), and river eutrophication. Nitrogen use efficiency can be increased by amending fertilizers with inhibitors to slow microbial nitrification processes, which transform ammonia to NO₃^–. Unfortunately, commercial inhibitors have failed to perform reliably across various agroecosystems for reasons not well understood. Using a combination of bacterial studies and soil incubations, we demonstrate here that 4-methyl-1-(prop-2-yn-1-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole (MPT) exhibits superior nitrification inhibitory properties. Unlike the commercial reversible inhibitors, MPT acts as a mechanistic, irreversible inhibitor of the key enzyme ammonia monooxygenase, enabling effective retention of ammonium (NH₄⁺) and suppression of NO₃^– and N₂O production over 21 days in several agricultural soils with pH values ranging from 4.7 to 7.5. A bacterial viability stain and a suite of freshwater and terrestrial ecotoxicity tests did not indicate any acute or chronic toxicity. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis revealed an enhanced inhibitory effect of MPT on both ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea. Thus, MPT outperforms currently available nitrification inhibitors and has great potential for broad application in various agricultural settings.

Plants respond to environmental pollutants and experience several abiotic stresses, among which heavy metal stress has been a serious concern in the global scientific community due to its yield-limiting effects on crop plants. Heavy metals intrude into the plant defense system and interfere with the cellular machinery, leading to metal toxicity and resulting in plant growth inhibition or death. Plants employ several counterbalance strategies, such as the formation of phytochelatins or metallothionein metal complexes, or vacuolar sequestration of ligand–metal complexes, etc., to combat heavy metal stress. Additionally, microbes present in the rhizospheric region share a special relationship with plants and immobilize heavy metals to improve plant health. Thus, the precise detection of heavy metals in adjoining environments is crucial to develop strategic defense strategies for sustainable agriculture. In this context, plant-based biomarkers have evolved as a promising approach. This review sheds light on heavy metal stress, various defense strategies employed by plants, and potential biomarkers used to detect heavy metal stresses and tries to draw a possible roadmap toward smart and sustainable agriculture.

Cyanobacterial blooms are a global ecological problem. The purpose of this study is to find microbial strains that can be used for the biological control of cyanobacterial blooms. In this study, a strain of Lysinibacillus fusiformis (QY-12) with the best algae inhibition effect was isolated and screened. The inhibition rate of Microcystis aeruginosa in the growth index period was 82.01% after 8 days of interference by QY-12. The algicidal substance l-2-aminoadipic acid (L-2-AA) produced by QY-12 was purified via preparative HPLC and identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). It was found by scanning electron microscopy that L-2-AA had a significant inhibitory effect on Microcystis aeruginosa in the early and middle stages of growth. This study provides a new idea for the prevention and control of cyanobacterial blooms.

Vegetable pests and diseases are some of the main factors affecting vegetable yield. Accurate monitoring and intelligent identification of vegetable pests and diseases are prerequisites for pest forecasting and integrated control. In this study, a vegetable pest identification system based on an improved Alexnet algorithm and 5G communication is designed. The system uses high-definition cameras and 5G communication modules to form the pest monitoring network. It builds an image recognition model based on the improved Alexnet algorithm to identify vegetable pests, and then it collects pictures for transmission to the terminal. After the experimental test, the pest identification system proposed in this study accounts for only 11.71, 11.91, 30.92, and 31.38% of the identification system of the 4G communication network in terms of transmission delay, transmission jitter, packet loss rate, and packet error rate, respectively. The recognition accuracy of the improved Alexnet algorithm is 18.76% higher than that of the unimproved one. After multiple iterations, it is verified that the recognition accuracy and loss function are better than those of the unimproved Alexnet algorithm. It shows that the identification system proposed can better monitor and identify vegetable pests and diseases, which is beneficial to integrated management.

The objective of this study was to investigate the nitrogen use efficiency of various wheat varieties and to establish evaluation indicators for nitrogen efficient use in wheat, thereby providing both theoretical reference and a practical basis. The experiment was conducted at Jiaozhou Modern Agriculture Demonstration Park of Qingdao Agricultural University (35.53°N, 119.58°E) from October 2021 to June 2023. Twenty-six main wheat varieties in the North China Plain were used as test materials. Four nitrogen fertilizer levels of 0, 150, 210, and 270 kg/hm² were set up. The nitrogen fertilizer level was the main factor, and the variety was the secondary factor. According to the yield and nitrogen accumulation of each variety under different nitrogen fertilizer levels, cluster analysis was carried out, respectively. It was found that Zhongmai 578 (H1), Zhongmai 175 (H2), and Weimai 8 (H3) had a higher yield under four nitrogen fertilizer levels. These varieties were nitrogen efficient, and their nitrogen accumulation was also higher. On the other hand, Jingshuang 16 (L1), Nongda 212 (L2), and Beijing 841 (L3) had lower yields under four nitrogen fertilizer levels. These varieties were nitrogen inefficient, and their nitrogen accumulation was also lower. The other 20 varieties had a medium yield and medium nitrogen accumulation. In this study, the differences of nitrogen use efficiency, nitrogen harvest index, nitrogen agronomic efficiency, and nitrogen partial factor productivity between three nitrogen efficient varieties and three nitrogen inefficient varieties were analyzed.