Field Crops Research最新文献

{"title":"Complementarity and competitive trade-offs enhance forage productivity, nutritive balance, land and water use, and economics in legume-grass intercropping","authors":"Chong Liang Luo ,&nbsp;Hai Xia Duan ,&nbsp;Ya Lin Wang ,&nbsp;Hong Jin Liu ,&nbsp;Shi Xiao Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109642","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109642","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Legume-grass intercropping is proposed as a globally sustainable approach to enhance forage crop productivity and quality while supporting agropastoral ecosystem functioning. However, the mechanism involved in interspecific complementarity and competition driven forage productivity, quality, resource utilization, and economic benefits across different proportions of intercrops remains unclear, particularly under interannual climate variability. To address this, a 3-year field experiment was conducted in the agropastoral area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) to assess the effects of different legume proportions (five legume-grass intercropping and their respective monocultures) and growing seasons on the productive, biological and economic viability. The results showed that legume proportions of 40 % and 50 % achieved the highest forage yield, system productivity (SP), water use efficiency (WUE), land equivalent ratio (LER), net profit (NP), return on investment (ROI), biodiversity effect (NE), and complementarity effect (CE) compared to other intercropping and monocultures (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). As the legume proportion increased, yield stability, selection effect, crude protein (CP) and ash contents, grass aggressivity and competitive ratio significantly increased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), while ether extract (EE), crude fiber (CF), nitrogen-free extract (NFE), gross energy (GE), legume aggressivity and competitive ratio significantly decreased (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Additionally, the lowest forage yield, SP, NP, ROI, CP, EE, NFE, GE, and the highest WUE, LER, NE, CE, CF and ash contents were observed during the dry season (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Overall, our results suggested that the optimal legume proportions of 40–50 % increased forage productivity, land and water use efficiency, and economic benefits in intercropping system by improving complementarity and competitive trade-offs, which helps the intercropping systems better adapt to climatic droughts in the semiarid regions of the QTP.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 109642"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142663337","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":"Optimizing sunflower yield: Understanding pollinator contribution to inform agri-environmental strategies","authors":"Lucie Mota ,&nbsp;João Loureiro ,&nbsp;José A. González ,&nbsp;Violeta Hevia ,&nbsp;Jorge J. Ortega-Marcos ,&nbsp;Carlos Rad ,&nbsp;Evan A.N. Marks ,&nbsp;Sílvia Castro","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109651","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109651","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>The agricultural intensification due to global increased food demand has harmed pollinator communities worldwide. However, some of the economically most important oilseed crops, such as the sunflower, depend on pollinators to produce seeds. While self-fertile varieties have undergone genetic selection to guarantee productivity, the pollinator-dependence levels and the economic contribution of pollinators have not been fully estimated.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Here, we aimed to explore floral and pollinator constraints limiting the agricultural yield of sunflower varieties most frequently used in the Iberian Peninsula.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Pollination experiments were undertaken to analyse the pollinator-dependence level of 12 varieties under controlled conditions and also under natural conditions in 23 fields of two Spanish agricultural regions. The selfing ability and economic contribution of pollinators were estimated by comparing bagged and open-pollination treatments.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Our results showed that the degree of pollinator-dependence is highly dependent on sunflower variety, with impacts on production and productivity outcomes, e.g. individual plant yield values varied between 0.188 and 0.692. Several varieties could self-fertilize and produce seeds regardless of pollinators. However, outcrossing significantly increased seed set in most varieties with increments up to 0.341. Overall, a trade-off between the number and weight of seeds was observed. Under natural field conditions, pollinators significantly increased overall sunflower production, although differences were observed among regions (increment of 275 kg/ha in Burgos and 382 kg/ha in Cuenca), with an associated economic outcome.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The self-fertilization ability and the level of pollinator-dependence vary according to the intrinsic reproductive traits of the variety analysed. Although some varieties are able to produce seeds despite the absence of pollinators, the sunflower clearly benefits from insect pollination. The landscape context and the availability of pollinator communities influenced the final crop yield and the economic outcome.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>Combining landscape-restoring interventions with the cultivation of self-compatible varieties during at least the first years of implementation may be a solid additional agri-environmental strategy to maintain production levels and economic outcomes, which may particularly mitigate effects of pollinator and biodiversity losses mainly in highly simplified agroecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 109651"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142663339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Scenarios for precision nitrogen management in potato: Impact on yield, tuber quality and post-harvest nitrate residues in the soil","authors":"A.S. Tsibart ,&nbsp;J. Dillen ,&nbsp;L. Van Craenenbroeck ,&nbsp;A. Elsen ,&nbsp;A. Postelmans ,&nbsp;G. van De Ven ,&nbsp;W. Saeys","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109648","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109648","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Potato belongs to the category of the staple food playing an important role in global food security and nutrition. Because potato plants have a shallow root system and stop nitrogen uptake early in the growing season (between 20 and 60 days after emergence), potato fields are more prone to leaching of nitrate to lower soil layers and the groundwater than deep rooting crops, thus posing a higher risk for polluting the environment with nitrate. On the other hand, lowering fertilizer dosages could result in yield loss and reduced tuber quality. To balance the risk of yield and quality loss against the risk of nitrate leaching, the fertilization dose should be adapted to the local production potential, which can vary considerably within a field. However, there is no consensus on how to adapt the fertilization to this variability. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess various N fertilization scenarios and their effect on the concentration of residual nitrate, total potato yield and tuber quality. Five potato fields located in Flanders with historical spatial variation in crop productivity were selected as potential candidates for implementing site-specific nitrogen management practice. The fields were divided into management zones based on variation visible in soil maps, maps of electrical conductivity, maps of vegetation indices and soil samples. Nitrogen was applied in three different dosages, including the conventional dose, and two reduced fertilization levels. Based on time series of vegetation indices, cumulative vegetation indices and pair-wise correlations between the vegetation index values obtained from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery (FAPAR, NDVI, FCOVER, LAI) only two fields of five showed temporal stability of the spatial management zones, while in three other fields the zone performance shifted depending on the weather conditions during the growing season. In the fields with stable zones, the lowest N fertilization levels in the areas with lower productivity potential resulted in a reduction of the concentration of leachable nitrates while total yield and potato tuber quality (dry matter and nitrogen content) did not change. For this type of fields with temporally stable zones, it was concluded to recommend reducing the nitrogen dosage in the zones with a lower productivity potential and high mineralization levels to limit nitrate leaching. In the fields where better performing zones change their location in wet and dry years, significant differences between treatments in the total potato yield, dry matter and nitrogen content in the tuber were also often detected. However, application of a low nitrogen dose during the first fertilization in one of the zones in such fields is not recommended as it is not yet known how the zones will behave the coming season, leading to a risk for underfertilization of these zones. Therefore, conventional fertilization remains the recommended practice in case the production potential","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 109648"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142663278","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":"Humic acid urea enhanced productivity and reduced active nitrogen loss in summer maize-winter wheat cropping system: A field lysimeter experiment","authors":"Min Liu ,&nbsp;Meng Xu ,&nbsp;Jiukai Xu,&nbsp;Shuiqin Zhang,&nbsp;Yanting Li,&nbsp;Liang Yuan,&nbsp;Bingqiang Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109656","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109656","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Humic acid urea (HAU) has become the leading product of high-efficiency nitrogen (N) fertilizer worldwide. Value-added urea products represented by HAU account for 80 % of the market share of high-efficient urea in China. To our knowledge, precise field monitoring of the agronomy and environmental performance of HAU has not been conducted.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>We aimed to examine the effect of HAU on grain yield, N uptake, NH₃ volatilization, N₂O emission, and NO₃^- leaching and to clarify the differences in productivity levels and N footprints between HAU and common urea (U) applied in field grain production.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>From 2021–2023, a randomized design experiment was conducted during a summer maize-winter wheat rotation system using field lysimeters. Three N treatments, no N (CK), U, and HAU, were administered in the experiment, and each treatment was repeated three times.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Compared with U, HAU increased the grain yield of winter wheat by 5.14–6.24 % and the grain yield of summer maize by 4.48–11.18 %. In the summer maize seasons, the NH₃ volatilization accumulation and N₂O emissions of HAU were significantly reduced (14.92–19.32 % and 21.01–25.16 %, respectively). In the winter wheat seasons, the NH₃ volatilization accumulation and N₂O emission of HAU were significantly reduced (19.44–19.94 % and 17.79 %–26.10 %, respectively). In summer maize, NO₃^- leaching losses occurred in 2021 and 2022 under HAU treatment was 8.40 % and 54.65 % lower, respectively, compared with U. Leaching losses in the 2021–2022 winter wheat season were reduced by 38.31 % under HAU compared with that under U. The N footprint of HAU was significantly reduced in the summer maize and winter wheat seasons by 10.57–20.52 % and 15.11–15.91 % compared with that under U. Furthermore, HAU reduced N loss and improved N use efficiency and soil residue rate in the summer maize-winter wheat rotation system.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>HAU application reduced the loss of active N in all three main pathways and increased shoot N uptake and soil N residual, thereby contributing to not only the increase in grain yield but also the mitigation of nitrogen field pollution and the minimization of unnecessary urea waste.</div></div><div><h3>Implications</h3><div>This lysimeter-based study provides quantification of the evidence supporting HAU as a highly efficient fertilizer, which contributed to increased productivity of the rotation system and enhanced resilience in environmental sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 109656"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142663329","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":"Increasing nitrogen supply during limited irrigation improves drip-irrigated sugar beet growth, yield, and net return in arid areas","authors":"Hongliang Zhou ,&nbsp;Le Wang ,&nbsp;Pengjie Xu ,&nbsp;Dongfei Liu ,&nbsp;Yuchen Hao ,&nbsp;Kaiyong Wang ,&nbsp;Hua Fan","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109646","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109646","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Limited irrigation is a measure to avoid sugar beet yield reduction and improve water use efficiency in arid areas. However, it is unclear whether the optimization of traditional nitrogen fertilizer management under the limited irrigation conditions can further improve sugar beet yield and economic benefits.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>In this three-year field experiment in the arid region of northwest China, N fertilizer (150 (N1, recommended N application rate) and 225 kg ha⁻¹ (N2, traditional N application rate) was applied in three methods, i.e., N fertilizer was applied at the ratios of 20: 80 (T1), 30: 70 (T2), and 40: 60 (T3, traditional N fertilization method) before sowing and at the rapid canopy growth stage. Then, the effects of the above N fertilizer managements on the growth parameters, canopy productivity, nutrient uptake, yield, and economic benefits of drip-irrigated sugar beets under limited irrigation was explored. To avoid the subjectivity of human evaluation, four comprehensive evaluation models were used for the evaluation of the N fertilization managements.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The results showed that under the two N application rates, T1 treatment promoted plant nutrient uptake by increasing the available N content in the soil compared with the T3 treatment. This then increased the shoot and taproot growth rates by an average of 18.8 % (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) and 26.5 % (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05), respectively by increasing the leaf area duration (LAD) during 45–120 DAE (days after emergence). In addition, T1 treatment increased the leaf senescence rate (LSR) of sugar beet during 120–150 DAE, which promoted yield formation and increased the taproot yield (TY) by 17.3 % (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) compared with T3 treatment. Although N2T1 treatment resulted in higher net return (NR) than N2T3 (traditional N management method) and N1T1 treatment, N2T1 treatment did not increase marginal benefit (MB) and N use efficiency compared with N1T1 treatment. The results of the four comprehensive evaluation models showed that the N1T1 treatment had the highest evaluation value and the highest ranking compared with the other treatments.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>When limited irrigation is carried out in sugar beet cropping in arid areas, it is suggested that the traditional N fertilizer application rate can be reduced to 150 kg ha⁻¹, and the proportion of topdressed N during limited irrigation can be increased.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>This study is of great significance for the sustainable development of local sugar beet production and the increase of farmers' income.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 109646"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142663334","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":"Plasticity of grain number and its components in contrasting wheat cultivars","authors":"Breno Bicego ,&nbsp;Roxana Savin ,&nbsp;Christine Girousse ,&nbsp;Vincent Allard ,&nbsp;Gustavo A. Slafer","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109653","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109653","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>A better understanding of the plasticity of grain number (GN) components may be essential to design better management and breeding strategies. Alterations in resource availability during pre-anthesis may affect the interplay between the main GN components, spike number (SN) and grains per spike (GS). Quantifying the magnitude, and understanding the physiological bases, of differences in plasticity of GN components within elite material would be valuable for breeding.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>The aim of this study was to investigate the physiology of GN determination, the plasticity of, and any possible trade-offs between its components.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Two modern genotypes (Ascott and Sy Moisson), expected to have contrasting GS response to changes in SN, were subjected to 5 levels of resource availability (two levels of shading, two levels of thinning and an unmanipulated control) from the onset of stem elongation to anthesis in two locations (France and Spain).</div></div><div><h3>Results and conclusions</h3><div>Yield in the control was relatively high in both locations and strongly related to GN, which was more plastic in Ascott than in Sy Moisson; and the difference in plasticity was related to different responses of the two main GN components. SN acted as a coarse regulator of yield contributing with crop level plasticity while GS acted as a fine-tuning mechanism expressing the smaller responses to resource at genotypic level. The higher GS plasticity of Ascott-like genotypes may provide more stability in early stress scenarios where the SN is reduced as long as no later limitations occur.</div></div><div><h3>Implications</h3><div>The acceptance of a hypothesis on genotypic variation in plasticity of GS derived from multilocation and multiyear datasets, and the consistency of the genotypic difference in response to changes in resources across the two locations, suggests that the genotypic difference in plasticity may be constitutive and would therefore be useful in designing strategic crosses aiming to combine plasticity of GS with other yield-related attributes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 109653"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142663330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing crop yield and carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission mitigation through different organic matter input in the Bohai Rim region: An estimation based on the DNDC-RF framework","authors":"Naijie Chang ,&nbsp;Di Chen ,&nbsp;Yurong Cai ,&nbsp;Jianzheng Li ,&nbsp;Mengxuan Zhang ,&nbsp;Hu Li ,&nbsp;Ligang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109624","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109624","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Context&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Comprehending the intricacies of crop growth and its impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is crucial for food security and agricultural resilience to climate change.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Research question&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Agroecosystem models are instrumental in this endeavor, yet their regional applicability remains constrained.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;In our study, we conducted a rigorous verification of the DNDC (DeNitrification-DeComposition) model across eight representative sites in the Bohai Rim region and determined its efficacy in accurately simulating crop yield, soil organic carbon (SOC), and nitrous oxide (N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O) emissions. We developed a coupled framework, DNDC-RF (DeNitrification-DeComposition-Random Forest), using the RF algorithm in conjunction with DNDC simulation results across fertilization and climate scenarios. Employing the DNDC-RF, we quantitatively evaluated the impact of diverse fertilization strategies on yield and net GHG (including SOC and N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emissions) under future climate scenarios, spanning the period from 2008 to 2100.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The DNDC-RF framework accurately predicts SOC, yield, and N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O with high R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; and LCCC, lower RMSE and MAE. Under the RCP4.5 scenario, spring maize yields exhibited a reduction under conventional fertilization measures. However, with organic matters input could achieve the yield increase, particularly additional manure input (9.6 kg C ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt; yr&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt;). Summer maize yields were projected to increase under future climate change, with the fastest increase occurring under the RCP8.5 scenario with additional manure input (26 kg C ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt; yr&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt;). Wheat yields also increased under future climate change, with the highest growth rate observed with straw return under the RCP8.5 (17.1 kg C ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt; yr&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt;). Under different fertilization practices, spring maize fields exhibited a net GHG sink. The best performance was observed with additional manure input and straw return under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. In contrast, conventional fertilization in winter wheat-summer maize fields resulted in a net GHG source under both RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. However, the application of organic matter mitigated the net GHG emissions, with additional manure input resulting in the largest increase rate of the net GHG sink.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusions&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;DNDC-RF framework can quickly and effectively solve the difficulties of DNDC model in regional scale prediction (such as complex parameter setting, difficult to accurately and quickly simulate at regional scale and time series), and can accurately simulate regional crop yield, SOC change and N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O emission. With the input of organic matter, the projected yields of maize and wheat are expected to increase, and the field’s ability to act as a net GHG sink could be enhanced.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Significance&lt;","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 109624"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142594081","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":"Exogenous melatonin improves peanut field productivity and quality at reduced nitrogen application","authors":"Lijie Li ,&nbsp;Xiangguo Cheng ,&nbsp;Yi Zhang ,&nbsp;Dana Kohtz ,&nbsp;Xiaohui Wang ,&nbsp;Xiaotian Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiangjun Kong ,&nbsp;Huiyun Xue ,&nbsp;Peipei Jia ,&nbsp;Na Bai ,&nbsp;Zengqiang Li ,&nbsp;Peng Xiao ,&nbsp;Xiaoping Pan ,&nbsp;Zhiyong Zhang ,&nbsp;Baohong Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109650","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109650","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><div>Nitrogen (N) plays integral roles in plant growth and yield. Finding ways to increase plant yield with reduced N usage will promote both agricultural and environmental sustainability. Melatonin acts as a multifunctional regulatory molecule in numerous metabolic processes crucial for plant growth and development as well as response to environmental stresses. The effects of melatonin on the material accumulation and transport, source-sink dynamics, as well as its association with yield and quality formation of peanut (<em>Arachis hypogaea</em> L.) remain unclear, especially at different N levels.</div></div><div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>We aim to investigate the response mechanism of melatonin in peanut plants subjected to reduced N application, in order to confirm the hypothesis that melatonin regulates carbon and N accumulation and transport, and coordinates source-sink relationships to increase production and improve quality.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study examined the effects of two seed dressing treatments (with or without 0.5 μM MT) and three N fertilizer levels (90, 135, and 180 kg/ha) using a randomized complete block design with split plots and three biological replications over 2021 and 2022. The evaluation focused on photosynthetic physiology, enzyme activities related to carbon and N metabolism, accumulation and transport of dry matter and N, yield, and quality, while exploring the relationships among these variables.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Melatonin-treated plants had more stable carbon and N metabolism than the untreated ones. This stability was linked to improved photosynthesis, sucrose production, and N assimilation, especially at the reduced N levels (90 and 135 kg/ha). Across three N levels and two years of field tests, MT increased peanut dry matter by 23.49 % from 455.63 g/m² to 562.66 g/m², enhanced the accumulation and mobilization of dry matter and N to grains by increasing peanut grain mass by 22.41–29.07 % at different N levels. This process appears to subsequently elevate the effective pod rate, leading to an average increase in pod yield, fat and protein content by 12.63 %, 7.95 %, and 10.33 %, respectively, over a two-year period and across three N application levels.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Plants subjected to melatonin treatment exhibited a coordinated source-sink relationship, which is manifested in high photosynthetic capacity and a high proportion of assimilates transported to pods, thus promoting effective proportions and pod fullness to improve peanut yield and quality under reduced N application.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>Our research provided insights into the response mechanism of melatonin on peanut carbon and N metabolism across various N treatments, contributing to a deeper understanding of how melatonin enhances crop yield and quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 109650"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142594082","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":"The roots of the rotation effect run deep","authors":"Virginia A. Nichols ,&nbsp;William Osterholz ,&nbsp;Sotirios V. Archontoulis ,&nbsp;Matt Liebman","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109640","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109640","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Context or problem&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;It is well-established that maize (&lt;em&gt;Zea mays&lt;/em&gt; L.) grown in extended rotations produces higher grain yields compared to maize grown in one- or two-phase rotations, even when nitrogen (N) is not limiting. Understanding the mechanisms driving this phenomenon, commonly referred to as ‘the rotation effect’, is important for designing cropping systems that use land and other resources efficiently. Differences in root systems can influence crop resource acquisition and therefore yield, but it is unknown if such differences play a role in the rotation effect.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Research question&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;We hypothesized that maize grown in an extended rotation system exhibits a deeper root structure with less root mass compared to maize grown in a short rotation, and that these characteristics are correlated with differences in grain production.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Using a long-term experiment established in 2001, we measured maize rooting depth across the growing season, root mass in 15 cm increments from 0 to 60 cm, and grain yields in the maize phase of two contrasting rotations: a 2-year rotation of maize/soybean (&lt;em&gt;Glycine max&lt;/em&gt; [L.] Merr) using inorganic sources of nitrogen (N) and maximum tillage depths of 15 cm (hereafter the ‘short rotation’), and a 4-year rotation of maize/soybean/oat (&lt;em&gt;Avena sativa&lt;/em&gt; L.)-alfalfa (&lt;em&gt;Medicago sativa&lt;/em&gt; L.)/alfalfa using a mix of organic and inorganic N sources and periodic inversion tillage to 25 cm (hereafter the ‘extended rotation’). Additionally, we measured soil penetration resistance and soil moisture, and performed a growth analysis on aboveground maize biomass.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;From 2013 to 2020, maize grain yields in the extended rotation were equal to or significantly higher than in the short rotation, averaging 8 % greater across eight years (11.0 and 10.2 dry Mg ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt;, respectively). The timing (e.g., early season, late season) of the extended rotation’s maize growth advantage was not consistent across years, but in all three seasons of root measurements (2019–2021) the maximum rooting depth of maize in the extended rotation was significantly deeper than in the short rotation by an average of 11 % (82 versus 76 cm, respectively). At physiological maturity, the two systems had similar amounts of root mass from 0 to 60 cm soil depth, but maize grown in the extended rotation invested significantly less of that mass (30 % compared to 47 %) into the soil surface layer (0 to 15 cm). The soil penetration resistances of the two systems differed in a manner consistent with the differing tillage regimes of the two rotations, however the patterns did not align with root differences.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusions&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;We posit that the extended rotation’s ‘deeper and steeper’ maize root patterns did not guarantee higher maize yields, but rather bestowed the plant with more flexibility in resource acqui","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 109640"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142578651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Delayed application of water and fertilizer increased wheat yield but did not improve quality parameters","authors":"Chunsheng Yao ,&nbsp;Jinpeng Li ,&nbsp;Yanmei Gao ,&nbsp;Zhen Zhang ,&nbsp;Ying Liu ,&nbsp;Zhencai Sun ,&nbsp;Zhimin Wang ,&nbsp;Yinghua Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109649","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109649","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context or problem</h3><div>Wheat is an important food crop for mankind, simultaneous improvement of wheat yield and quality is human most important goal, but they often cannot increase at the same time.</div></div><div><h3>Objective or research question</h3><div>The effects of irrigation mode, nitrogen application rate and topdressing time on yield and quality of two wheat varieties were studied, and the possibility of synergistic improvement of yield and quality was also explored.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Two irrigation treatments (conventional border irrigation and micro-sprinkling irrigation) were set up, and three nitrogen application rate treatments (120, 210 and 300 kg N ha⁻¹) were set up under each irrigation treatment. The yield formation and quality parameters of wheat were investigated.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The grain yield, key enzyme activities of protein synthesis, protein content and dough processing quality of the two cultivars increased with the increase of nitrogen application rate. However, when the nitrogen level was higher than 210 kg N ha⁻¹, the grain yield and processing quality of winter wheat did not increase further. Under the same nitrogen application rate, compared with conventional border irrigation (CBI), micro-sprinkling irrigation (MSI) significantly increased the grain yield and total protein content, but did not improve the ratio of glutenin to gliadin and dough processing quality parameters.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Under the experimental conditions, the synergistic improvement of wheat yield and quality parameters could be achieved by optimizing nitrogen application rate, and the delayed application of water and fertilizer could further increase wheat grain yield, but did not improve grain quality parameters.</div></div><div><h3>Implications or significance</h3><div>This study provided theoretical guidance for further improving the grain yield and quality of winter wheat in the North China Plain.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":"319 ","pages":"Article 109649"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142578560","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}