Field Crops Research最新文献

{"title":"Precision nutrient management coupled with integrated weed control reduces weed pressure, enhancing the productivity, profitability and energy use indices of upland direct seeded rice","authors":"Smruti Ranjan Padhan , Sanjay Singh Rathore , Kapila Shekhawat , Shiv Mangal Prasad , Sushmita Saini , Subhash Babu , Soumya Ranjan Padhan , Shubham Anil Durgude","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110404","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110404","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Rice production is increasingly constrained by water scarcity, promoting direct-seeded rice (DSR) as a resource-efficient alternative to puddled transplanted rice in the rainfed Eastern Plateau and Hills region of India. However, severe early-season weed infestation and inefficient nutrient management strongly limit DSR productivity by reducing crop competitiveness and yield potential.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>The study aimed to identify optimal combinations of precision nutrient and weed management strategies to reduce weed pressure, enhance productivity, profitability, and energy-use efficiency in upland DSR over two growing seasons.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A field experiment was conducted using a split-plot design with three precision nutrient management strategies; recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), leaf colour chart (LCC), and Nutrient Expert (NE), in main plots, and five weed management options in sub-plots. Principal component analysis (PCA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) employed to assess treatment interactions and key productivity drivers.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>RDF was associated with 17.5–18.5 % higher weed density compared with the LCC. Among weed control strategies, pendimethalin followed by hand weeding (PHW) achieved the highest weed control efficiency (82.9 %), outperforming pendimethalin followed by bispyribac-Na (PBNa) and brown manuring (BM). NE and LCC produced comparable grain yield (GY) and production efficiency (PE); however, PHW following weed flush control significantly increased GY and PE by 8 % and 17 % over PBNa and BM, respectively, across both years. NE significantly enhanced grain nitrogen concentration and uptake by 7.3–15.4 % and 15.7–38.5 %, respectively, over RDF, leading to higher protein content (10.8–15.2 % over RDF and 7.6–11.1 % over LCC) and protein yield (295–324 kg ha⁻¹), albeit with lower protein economic efficiency (3.55–3.78 US$ kg⁻¹). Energy productivity and energy intensity under NE were significantly higher by 15–18 % and 17–19 % over RDF and by 11 % and 8–9 % over LCC, respectively. Moreover, PCA clearly discriminated the treatments, which were consistently associated with higher yield, nutrient uptake, protein yield, economic returns, and energy-use efficiency. The SEM indicated strong positive effects of nutrient uptake and energy-use efficiency and a negative effect of weed pressure on productivity, explaining 97.7 % of its variation and significantly enhancing economic performance.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Integrating NE-based nutrient management with PHW effectively reduces weed pressure while enhancing productivity, profitability, and energy performance in upland DSR.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>This study provides robust evidence for a sustainable and resource-efficient management strategy for upland DSR, supporting improved yield stability, reduced weed competition, and enhanced eco","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"341 ","pages":"Article 110404"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146187655","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":"Integrating multiple crop models and multi-source data in a knowledge-guided deep learning framework for wheat and maize yield forecasting in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, China","authors":"Zhikai Cheng,&nbsp;Xiaobo Gu,&nbsp;Yuanling Zhang,&nbsp;Xiaohai Fang,&nbsp;Yang Xu,&nbsp;Shikun Sun,&nbsp;Yadan Du,&nbsp;Huanjie Cai","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110372","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110372","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Early forecasts of high-resolution (e.g., 1 km × 1 km) crop yields are crucial for ensuring agricultural sustainability, particularly under climate change. Conventional process-based (e.g., crop models) and data-driven (e.g., machine learning) approaches face limitations due to high uncertainty in complex scenarios and insufficient training samples, respectively.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To address these challenges, we developed an improved knowledge-guided deep learning (IKGDL) framework.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The IKGDL considered biophysical knowledge from multiple crop models (AquaCrop, crop-water productivity model; APSIM, Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator; and WOFOST, World Food Studies model) by the pre-training process and introduced additional constraints from remote sensing data (RS) and extreme climatic events (ECE) by the fine-tuning process.</div></div><div><h3>Results and conclusions</h3><div>The results showed that single crop model had high uncertainty caused by the model structure. The application of multiple crop models and active learning provided enough available samples for guiding the IKGDL framework to learn general knowledge about meteorological variables (maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and precipitation; MV) and yields. IKGDL achieved satisfactory yield forecasts approximately two months before crop harvest with low spatial and temporal uncertainties (coefficient of determination of 0.78 and 0.76, the normalized root mean square error of 16.24 % and 18.44 % for wheat and maize, respectively). Interpretive analyses quantified the contribution of multi-source data to yield prediction through the SHapley Additive exPlanation tool, with importance ranked as MV &gt; RS &gt; ECE. Although the contribution of ECE was lower, it could not be ignored due to its catastrophic damage to yields. The IKGDL provided a novel insight into regional crop yield prediction, and its good extensibility offered significant potential for continuous improvement in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 110372"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146076539","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":"Using ethylene combined with green manuring to enhance rice productivity, economic benefit, and energy efficiency in double-rice paddy field","authors":"Jinxin Sun ,&nbsp;Guopeng Zhou ,&nbsp;Danna Chang ,&nbsp;Rui Liu ,&nbsp;Han Liu ,&nbsp;Zhengbo Ma ,&nbsp;Ting Liang ,&nbsp;Jia Liu ,&nbsp;Chunqin Zou ,&nbsp;Weidong Cao","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110369","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110369","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Green manuring significantly improves grain yield and soil fertility, while it may increase the risk of methane (CH₄) emissions in paddy fields. Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies for mitigating CH₄ emissions from paddy fields while preserving the inherent benefits of green manuring.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study aimed to develop cleaner and more sustainable agricultural practices for rice production by incorporating green manure combined with ethylene application.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A 2-year field study involving winter fallow (CK), green manure (GM), green manure combined with ethylene applied in early rice (GE_ef), late rice (GE_lf), and both the double rice seasons (GE_eh/lh), was performed, rice yield, CH₄ emissions, and energy efficiency, etc., were investigated.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Green manuring significantly increased the annual rice yield, net income, net energy, and soil organic carbon sequestration rate by 5.7 %-12.0 %, 804–2227 CNY ha⁻¹, 16.4–28.3 GJ ha⁻¹, and 1893–2023 kg CO₂-eq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, while also increased CH₄ emissions by 27.8 %-110.2 % and carbon footprint by 6.3 %-44.6 % relative to CK, respectively. The three ethylene treatments significantly decreased the annual CH₄ emissions and carbon footprint by 34.5 %-55.2 % and 26.5 %-45.6 %, compared with GM treatment. Notably, the GE_eh/lh treatment exhibited the highest annual net income and energy use efficiency, while simultaneously achieving the lowest greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint. The highest sustainability evaluation index was found in the GE_eh/lh treatment, which was 1.20–1.47 times higher than other treatments.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Using ethylene combined with green manuring, especially GE_eh/lh, increases rice productivity, economic benefits, and energy use efficiency while reducing carbon footprint in double-rice paddy fields.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>The study provides a potential practice for increasing rice yield while mitigating CH₄ emissions in the double-rice cropping regions in Southern China_.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 110369"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146071604","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":"Integrating green manure and organic amendments enhances nutrient–yield coupling and system resilience in dryland wheat","authors":"Yunuo Li ,&nbsp;Yuhan Jiang ,&nbsp;MengDi Wang ,&nbsp;Conghui Liu ,&nbsp;Yamin Peng ,&nbsp;Jianglan Shi ,&nbsp;Xiaohong Tian","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110361","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110361","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Dryland wheat systems on the Loess Plateau of China are increasingly constrained by erratic rainfall and ongoing soil degradation. The traditional summer fallow, intended for water storage, fails to restore soil fertility or sustain productivity. Under intensifying climate variability, improved management strategies are urgently needed.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study tested whether integrating legume green manure with organic amendments (straw, manure, or both) could transform the summer fallow from a passive water-storage phase into an active biological stage, thereby enhancing yield stability, soil fertility, and system resilience.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A seven-year split-plot field experiment (2016–2023) was established in a rainfed winter wheat system on the Loess Plateau, China. The main plot compared two summer fallow systems: conventional fallow (G₀) and legume green manure incorporation (G). Subplots included five fertilization regimes: mineral fertilizer alone, mineral fertilizer combined with manure (M), straw (S), or their combination (MS).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Replacing summer fallow with green manure initially reduced yield by 8–14 % but produced a 14.4 % advantage during the 2023 drought after a 3–5-year transition. The green manure system (G) enhanced crop nitrogen and phosphorus uptake primarily via soil nutrient pool expansion, whereas nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) showed strong interannual variability rather than consistent increases across years. Among treatments, the G-M achieved the highest yield, whereas G-MS most effectively enhanced soil nutrient stocks (0–60 cm) and maintained comparable nutrient uptake to G-M. Path analysis indicated that 61 % of the total yield effect occurred indirectly through nutrient-pool expansion and enhanced nutrient uptake.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Replacing summer fallow with green manure shifted system management from water conservation to soil fertility renewal. The G-M pathway supports short-term productivity through fast nutrient turnover, whereas G-MS builds long-term resilience by expanding soil nutrient capital and sustaining nutrient cycling.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>Integrating green manure with organic amendments offers a flexible and scalable approach to strengthen soil function, enhance nutrient–yield coupling, and build climate resilience in dryland wheat systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 110361"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146045260","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":"Achieving sustainable rice production with reduced nitrogen fertilization through unlocking soil organic nitrogen mineralization by alleviating microbial carbon limitation","authors":"Ning Su ,&nbsp;Xiangmin Rong ,&nbsp;Yao Liu ,&nbsp;Junru Li ,&nbsp;Runjia Yin ,&nbsp;Guixian Xie ,&nbsp;Yuping Zhang ,&nbsp;Gongwen Luo","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110382","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110382","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background and purpose</h3><div>Balancing nitrogen (N) fertilizer management strategies to ensure both food security and environmental sustainability remains a major challenge for sustainable agriculture. Promoting the conversion of soil organic N (SON) into inorganic N is a viable strategy to achieve this goal; however, its underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A 12-year (2013–2024) field experiment with five N application rates was employed to determine the optimal reduction potential for N fertilizer in a double-cropping rice system in Liuyang County, Hunan Province, China. Concurrently, soil samples from the experiment plots were subjected to a 120-day microcosm experiment to further investigate the alleviation of soil microbial carbon (C) limitation and soil N mining potential driven by exogenous C inputs.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Field experiments indicate that reducing N application by 10 % maintained grain yields comparable to conventional fertilization while significantly decreasing N losses (7.1 %-19.9 %; highest value for NO₃^--N leaching). A 20 % N reduction could maintain a relatively stable soil-plant N balance and markedly decreased N input and loss (12.8–34.2 %; highest value for NO₃^--N leaching), albeit with a risk of yield decrease. High N application did not significantly increase acidolysable SON content, related enzyme activities, or the abundance of key functional genes involved in SON mineralization. Instead, high input reduced the rates of soil microbial amino acid uptake and gross protein depolymerization. N input alleviated soil microbial N limitation but progressively exacerbated microbial C limitation with increasing input. Microcosm experiments indicate that straw addition alleviated the microbial C limitation, enhanced the retentions of inorganic, and organic N in soil, increased net N mineralization rate, and suppressed nitrification.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>These findings indicate that the incorporation of straw could hold promise for reducing N fertilization by approximately 20 % in rice systems within this region. This effect stems from enhanced microbial activity and accelerated SON mineralization, thereby sustaining productivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 110382"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146072436","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":"Limited variation in sorghum yield responses to diverse legume rotations under Sudano-Sahelian conditions","authors":"Louis-Marie Raboin ,&nbsp;Eric Gozé ,&nbsp;Oumarou Diallo ,&nbsp;Guelika Kafando ,&nbsp;Benoit Joseph Batieno ,&nbsp;Julie Dusserre","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110371","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110371","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>In Sudano-Sahelian West Africa, declining soil fertility due to land degradation, low fertilizer use, and shortened fallows threatens productivity. Legume-based rotations offer a sustainable solution by improving nitrogen availability and soil health, especially under low-input conditions.</div></div><div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>This study aimed to enhance sorghum-based cropping systems through one-year legume rotations. It sought to characterize a diversity of legume crops and evaluate the effect of returning their biomass (excluding grain) to the soil on subsequent sorghum crop’s growth and yield.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Twenty crop precedents, comprising 17 legumes and 3 grasses, were evaluated across three randomized complete block design (RCBD) field trials under varying soil fertility conditions. Biological nitrogen fixation was quantified using the natural abundance (δ¹⁵N) method along with measurements of nitrogen content and total nitrogen accumulation in aboveground biomass. In the following season, sorghum was grown to assess rotational effects on yield and growth.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The study revealed substantial and significant variability among legume species in biomass and nitrogen accumulation, with <em>Crotalaria juncea</em> and <em>Centrosema pascuorum</em> showing the highest values. However, these differences did not translate into significant yield gains for subsequent sorghum crops. While legumes outperformed grasses in improving sorghum yields, variation among legume species was minimal, suggesting nitrogen recycling inefficiencies under Sudano-Sahelian conditions.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Under Sudano-Sahelian conditions, non-nitrogen (non-N) effects appear to play a crucial role in the overall rotational benefits of legumes in cereal-based systems. Therefore, grain and fodder legumes should be preferred over green manure legumes because they provide high-protein food for humans and feed for animals, while enhancing the overall performance of crop rotations. Further diversification of legume crops is needed to optimize legume-nonlegume balance and manage trade-offs between food security and sustainable soil management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 110371"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146076930","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":"Multi-site evaluation of phosphorus fertilization with bio-inputs in sugarcane: Yield and soil P fractions","authors":"Gabriel Pinheiro Silva,&nbsp;Sarah Mello Leite Moretti,&nbsp;Ingrid Martins Stelutti,&nbsp;Paulo Sergio Pavinato,&nbsp;Otávio Gonçalves Cesário,&nbsp;Marcelo Grijalva Carneiro Barros,&nbsp;Johnny Rodrigues Soares,&nbsp;Rafael Otto","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110379","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110379","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Background&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Phosphorus (P) deficiencies in highly weathered tropical soils limits sugarcane productivity, and the agronomic value of bio-inputs and phosphorus reapplication remain uncertain. We evaluated whether integrating bio-inputs with phosphorus fertilization increases yield and modifies soil phosphorus pools across contrasting environments.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Field trials were conducted at six commercial sites in South-Central Brazil over two crop cycles. We compared P applied in the planting furrow alone or combined with a biological conditioner or phosphate-solubilizing bacteria; in the first ratoon, P was either reapplied or omitted while maintaining the same bio-input scheme. Stalk yield was measured in both cycles, and sugar yield was derived from technological analyses. After each harvest, soils were sampled and a rapid fractionation quantified labile, moderately labile, occluded, organic, and total P for selected fertilized treatments. Multivariate patterns were summarized with principal component analysis (PCA). Associations between stalk yield and soil P fractions were evaluated using Spearman correlation.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;P at planting consistently increased stalk yield relative to the unfertilized control across sites, with an average gain of approximately 9 Mg ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt; in plant cane. In the first ratoon, yields were largely sustained by residual P from planting and the cross-site mean effect of reapplication was small and not significant, although clear gains occurred at some locations. Responses to bio-inputs were modest and site dependent: the biological conditioner improved yield at a subset of sites, whereas phosphate-solubilizing products rarely exceeded fertilization alone. Within fertilized treatments, soil P fractionation showed that bio-inputs increased labile P in some site–cycles (direction and magnitude varied by product and cycle) and increased moderately labile P in plant cane, relative to fertilization alone. Shifts among P pools varied by site and cycle and were not consistently associated with yield. PCA indicated that site properties dominated responses, with one clay-rich, high-phosphorus site clustering separately and aligning with higher productivity together with larger moderately labile and total pools.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusions and implications&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;P applied at planting was the primary driver of sugarcane yield gains across our multi-site; while additional gains from first-ratoon reapplication or from bio-inputs were small and depended on local conditions. Bio-inputs may offer medium to long term benefits, since they increased the moderately labile soil P fraction at some sites, although this prospect remains uncertain and requires validation under low P supply. Overall, prioritizing P at planting while using site-specific diagnostics to decide on reapplication and to test bio-inputs is the most defensible strategy. These findings su","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 110379"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146071611","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":"Multi-objective optimization framework for cropping structure based on water-carbon-economy nexus: Large-scale case study in Northeast China","authors":"Zhenwei Hou ,&nbsp;Yaqun Liu ,&nbsp;Jieyong Wang ,&nbsp;Kiril Manevski ,&nbsp;Zhaohai Zeng","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110367","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110367","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Large-scale coordination of crop production, environmental costs, and economic benefits (EB) is necessary to achieve sustainable agricultural development. However, there is lack of knowledge on methodologies satisfying multiple criteria and proposing solutions with low carbon-water footprints and high EB.</div></div><div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>This study aimed to develop an annual crop-specific multi-objective optimization framework to jointly minimize irrigation water requirement (IWR) and maximize net carbon sequestration (NCS) and EB.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The framework coupled Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm III (NSGA-III) to generate annual Pareto fronts with an entropy-weighted Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) scheme to identify annual best crop allocation plans. The framework was designed with actual data for the Northeast China region over 2000–2020 period. Annual precipitation across the region was fitted with a Pearson-III distribution and classified into dry, normal, and wet years informing scenario-specific irrigation water caps and robustness evaluation via Monte Carlo resampling.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>With an essentially unchanged regional mean total sown area (2.19 × 10⁷ ha), the framework explicitly proposed changes in cropland and provincial reallocations to achieve the best annual crop allocation plans. Within 20 years total IWR decreased by 5.1 %, total NCS changed marginally (+0.1 %) and remained broadly stable interannually, while median EB increased from 1.5 × 10¹¹–1.6 × 10¹¹ RMB (+5.5 %) with reduced interannual variability.</div></div><div><h3>Implications</h3><div>The study shows truncated EB over two decades when coordinated with IWR and NCS due to realistic constraints. The proposed framework offers a reproducible approach for large-scale resource management strategies through quantifying trade-offs in water-carbon-economy nexus, providing actionable evidence to advance Sustainable Development Goals and enhance regional sustainability under climate variability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 110367"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146071609","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":"Climate-resilient agriculture strategies to address the challenges of agri-food security and climate change","authors":"Raj Kumar Jat ,&nbsp;Vijay Singh Meena ,&nbsp;RK Sohane ,&nbsp;RK Jha ,&nbsp;Abhay Kumar ,&nbsp;Ujjwal Kumar ,&nbsp;Anjani Kumar ,&nbsp;RN Singh ,&nbsp;Shubham Durgude ,&nbsp;Suneel Kumar ,&nbsp;Illathur R. Reddy ,&nbsp;S. Pazhanisamy ,&nbsp;Rakesh Kumar ,&nbsp;Sunita Kumari Meena ,&nbsp;Ved Prakash ,&nbsp;Sanjay Kumar ,&nbsp;Brijendu Kumar ,&nbsp;Umesh Narayan Umesh ,&nbsp;Ranjan Kumar Singh ,&nbsp;Ravikant Chaubey ,&nbsp;Swati Sagar","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110370","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110370","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Small landholding agricultural landscapes face heightened risks due to adverse climatic conditions, threatening sustainable management practices and agri-food and nutritional security. The Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP), particularly Bihar, India, are vulnerable to these challenges, necessitating the optimization of cropping systems for enhanced productivity, profitability, and climate resilience.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study investigated suitable cropping systems and the impacts of climate change on agri-food production systems in Bihar, India, to optimize the farm-level productivity, profitability, and sustainability.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Field demonstrations of climate-resilient agricultural (CRA) practices were conducted across 70 project locations in seven hubs from 2019 to 2024. Data from agro-climatic zones (ACZs) were analyzed to evaluate productivity, profitability, and sustainability of optimized cropping systems.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The Rice–Potato + Maize (RPM) system showed the highest productivity across zones (34.10, 42.23, and 23.69 t ha⁻¹ in ACZ I, IIIa, and IIIb, respectively). Soybean–Wheat–Mung bean (SWM) demonstrated higher profitability in ACZ I ($2400 ha⁻¹) and IIIb ($211.43 ha⁻¹), highlighting the economic potential of legume-based systems. In ACZ III, rice-based systems incorporating mustard ($2030.4 ha⁻¹) and lentil ($1936.30 ha⁻¹) were more profitable, emphasizing crop diversification and rotation strategies. Adverse climatic conditions significantly impacted agro-ecosystems, exacerbating threats to agri-food production systems.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Cropping system optimization enhances system productivity and profitability while mitigating climate risks. Legume- and rice-based systems demonstrate significant potential for economic and environmental sustainability in Bihar.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>Policymakers should prioritize climate-resilient cropping systems as adaptive strategies to ensure sustainable agro-ecosystem management, enhance farm-level profitability, and improve agri-food and nutritional security in vulnerable regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 110370"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146076540","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":"Nitrogen evaluation under different maize–soybean intercropping row configurations by HYDRUS (2D/3D) considering biological nitrogen fixation in northern China","authors":"Bokai Yang ,&nbsp;Xianyue Li ,&nbsp;Jirí Šimůnek ,&nbsp;Jianwen Yan ,&nbsp;Ning Chen ,&nbsp;Yuehong Zhang ,&nbsp;Qi Hu ,&nbsp;Hongxing Liu ,&nbsp;Lei Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110365","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2026.110365","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Maize-soybean intercropping is a widely adopted agricultural system. However, most existing modeling approaches do not explicitly account for biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), limiting their ability to distinguish different nitrogen sources and associated processes. As a result, the interactions among fertilizer-derived nitrogen (N), biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), and crop N uptake under different row configurations remain insufficiently understood.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study aimed to quantify the allocation and utilization of fertilizer- and BNF-derived nitrogen between maize and soybean, evaluate crop nitrogen competition, and identify optimal row configurations under BNF.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A two-year field experiment (2024–2025) was conducted in northern China to quantify soil nitrogen dynamics and crop N uptake in maize–soybean intercropping systems with different row configurations. Soybean biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and its transfer to maize were quantified using the δ¹⁵N natural abundance method. Experimental data were further analyzed using a modified HYDRUS (2D/3D) model, in which BNF was incorporated as a time-varying nitrogen flux to simulate nitrogen transport and uptake processes.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>As the proportion of soybean rows increased, soil N content on the soybean side reached approximately 1.2 times that on the maize side, and the total BNF input increased from 14.3 to 44.3 kg ha⁻¹. Conversely, the proportion of BNF-derived N taken up by maize decreased from 31.3 % to 15.2 %. The intercropping system with two rows of maize and four rows of soybean (IC_2–4) resulted in soil N surplus and leaching (29.2 kg ha⁻¹), whereas the system with two rows of maize and two rows of soybean (IC_2–2) maintained the optimal balance between the BNF input and crop N uptake, achieving the highest N land equivalent ratio (<em>LER</em>_N) of 1.15. In contrast, the system with four rows of maize and two rows of soybean (IC_4–2) showed the highest total crop N uptake but the lowest BNF input, thereby limiting the N facilitation effects between the two crops.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>An appropriate proportion of soybean rows enhances N complementarity between maize and soybean, increases both the BNF input and N use efficiency, and reduces soil N accumulation and leaching risk. Among all tested configurations, IC_2–2 provides the best comprehensive performance, achieving high N uptake efficiency while minimizing environmental risks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"340 ","pages":"Article 110365"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146045259","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}