Field Crops Research最新文献

{"title":"Genetic gain in yield of Australian faba bean since 1980 and associated shifts in the phenotype: Growth, partitioning, phenology, and resistance to lodging and disease","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109575","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109575","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><p>Feeding a growing human population with limited arable land requires greater crop yield that is, in turn, driven by improved agronomy, better varieties, and their synergy. Here we focus on faba bean, <em>Vicia faba</em> L., an under-researched grain legume for which on-farm yield in Australia has increased at 0.8 % y⁻¹ since 1990.</p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>We aimed to quantify genetic gain in seed yield of Australian faba bean varieties released since 1980, and to identify associated shifts in physiological and agronomic traits.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We combined three studies: the complete historical collection of Australian faba bean varieties was grown in 1) a vintage experiment of three field trials; and 2) a pot experiment inoculated with old and new strains of <em>Ascochyta fabae.</em> Since most varieties were grown in a national network of trials, we 3) estimated genetic gain in seed yield and individual seed weight in 129 environments.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>In the vintage experiment, genetic gain in seed yield varied from 0.4 % y⁻¹ to almost zero; low rates of genetic gain were also apparent in the national network of trials. Biomass, harvest index, and crop growth rate in the critical period had low rates of genetic change, and there were strong trade-offs between yield components and in their responses to selection. Breeding increased seed size at 0.5 % y⁻¹. Visual lodging scores decreased at 4.9 % y⁻¹. There was breakdown in resistance to Ascochyta blight, but it was restored in new varieties.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Australian faba bean breeding contributed to on-farm yield and profitability through improved agronomic traits and seed quality. Low genetic gain in yield can be partially attributed to physiological trade-offs between traits, economic trade-offs between multiple breeding targets, and genotype-by-environment interaction.</p></div><div><h3>Implication</h3><p>Under-researched crops require greater investment to match the genetic gain in yield of major crops.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378429024003289/pdfft?md5=41b0c4b5fbfcd2a4d6f9ae2021c9a515&pid=1-s2.0-S0378429024003289-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142232923","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":"Grain and nutritional yield merits of sustainable intensification through maize-legume rotations in land constrained smallholder farms of Malawi","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109565","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109565","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Context&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;In Southern Africa, crop yields remain low despite the advent of technological improvements, leaving the region vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition. Most governments are now faced with the dilemma of achieving food security, while reducing poverty in the face of climate change and endemic land fragmentation due to population pressure. To address these challenges, considerable efforts have been put on sustainable intensification through conservation agriculture (CA) cropping systems involving maize-legume rotations or intercrops.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Objective&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;This study evaluated the performance of maize-legume rotations in terms of maize yield, total systems nutritional productivity, and land requirements for food and nutrition security at household level in land constrained settings.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;On-farm trials testing maize monocrops, with and without herbicide, and maize-legume rotations were established in three districts of Central Malawi (Kasungu, Mchinji, and Lilongwe) for three consecutive cropping seasons (2014–2017). Each of these trials was implemented on 18 farms, corresponding to 6 farms in each of the three districts, with each farm considered as one replicate.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Maize yield increased by 30–110 kg ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt; with every additional 1000 plants ha&lt;sup&gt;−1&lt;/sup&gt; at harvest, indicating the importance of achieving the recommended plant population. CA rotation systems (maize-cowpea, maize-groundnut, and maize-soybean rotations) and CA sole systems (with and without herbicide) had higher maize yields than the sole maize cropping system established with ridge and furrow practice. In Mchinji and Lilongwe, maize–cowpea rotations yielded 35 % more than the ridge and furrow practice while the maize-soybean rotation yielded 42 % above the same practice in Kasungu. Maize-legume rotations also yielded 22–70 % higher protein, while energy yield was 13–18 % higher in the CA sole maize cropping system compared to the ridge and furrow practice. CA-based cropping systems (sole and rotations) exhibited potential to meet household nutritional needs in land-constrained settings, with some showing a significant land-sparing advantage. These results indicate that CA-based cropping systems not only improve maize yields but also enhance nutritional productivity and land use efficiency.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusions&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Harnessing the synergistic benefits of CA systems, legume integration and recommended plant populations can pave way for sustainable agricultural practices that are crucial for food and nutrition security of land constrained farms in Southern Africa.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Implications&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;While maize remains an important staple in Southern Africa, legume integration as part of a broader nutrition sensitive agriculture approach can help address food production and nutritional needs in regions with limited land availability, thereby supporting long-ter","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142229940","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":"Identification of the effects of low temperature on grain-setting rate of different types of late-season rice (Oryza sativa) during heading","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109584","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109584","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The development of double-season rice cropping is advantageous for maximizing the utilization of radiation and temperature resources in rice production, while ensuring food security. However, late sowing often renders the late-season rice susceptible to cold stress during heading and flowering, leading to a low grain-setting rate and significant yield loss in subtropical zones. Despite this, the precise mechanisms through which low temperatures impact grain setting, along with the sensitivities of heading, flowering and pollination to cold stress, remain unclear across different types of rice. In this study, a field experiment involving multiple sowing dates and a pot experiment simulating low-temperature conditions during the booting and heading stages were conducted, using various late-season rice cultivars as materials. The heading degree, glume openness, anther dehiscence and pollen fertility were measured to determine their responses to ambient temperature. The results showed that late sowing significantly delayed the heading time of rice, exposing the plants to low temperatures during their heading and flowering in autumn. Under late sowing or simulated low-temperature conditions, the heading degree, anther dehiscence coefficient, and fertile pollen rate significantly decreased, resulting in lower grain-setting rates and grain yield across all rice types. However, glume opening remained unaffected in this study. The critical lowest daily temperatures for safe heading were identified as 18.5°C, 19.3°C and 22°C, and for safe anther dehiscence at heading, they were 19.9°C, 20°C and 22.3°C for japonica, indica-japonica hybrid and indica rice, respectively. Furthermore, the critical lowest daily temperatures for safe pollen fertility averaged 19.1°C, 20.2°C and 21.7°C in the 4–7 days prior to full heading for japonica, indica-japonica hybrid and indica rice, respectively. The cold tolerance in anther dehiscence of indica-japonica hybrid rice was similar to that of japonica rice but higher than that of indica rice, while the cold tolerance in heading and pollen fertility of indica-japonica hybrid rice was intermediate between japonica and indica rice. Path analysis revealed that low temperature decreased the grain-setting rate primarily by reducing anther dehiscence coefficient across all types of rice. Lower pollen fertility was another significant pathway through which low temperature decreased the grain-setting rate in indica rice. Planting japonica rice is recommended for the safe production of late-season rice in subtropical zones.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142229941","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":"Stable isotope composition of long and short term carbon pools can screen drought tolerance in cassava","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109586","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109586","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Leaf carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C) is a promising trait for assessing genotypic differences in responses to environmental stress, particularly drought. Despite its potential, comprehensive evaluations of δ¹³C across various carbohydrate pools and leaf positions, in comparison with other traits, are still lacking for cassava (<em>Manihot esculenta</em>). This study aimed to estimate the genotypic effect size and the correlation with yield for δ¹³C and other commonly assessed traits in cassava. We compared the δ¹³C values at bulk root initiation stage of fourteen genotypes grown in the wet (1450 mm annual rainfall) and dry Caribbean (950 mm annual rainfall). We focused on both non-structural (soluble sugars) as well as structural (cellulose) carbohydrate pools across multiple leaf positions. Our results revealed significant genotypic effects across nearly all pools and leaf positions, which were equal or larger than other commonly measured traits. Interestingly, correlations between isotope composition and root yield were only observed in the dry location, with upper leaves exhibiting weaker correlations across all carbohydrate pools. Notably, while soluble sugars displayed stronger correlations with yield, they also demonstrated higher susceptibility to within-field variations. Furthermore, complementary information was found when combining δ¹³C with other traits such as leaf retention. Combining isotope compositions across various carbohydrate pools may reveal insights into source-sink dynamics. These results underscore the potential of δ¹³C as a tool for improving drought tolerance in cassava and provide a basis for its integration into cassava breeding programs, when used under dry conditions. To enhance the practical utility of δ¹³C as a screening technique, further research is advised to validate these findings across multiple locations, growing seasons and growth stages.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378429024003393/pdfft?md5=a1c13836a3d6fc620c6ccdd807e78cfd&pid=1-s2.0-S0378429024003393-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142168525","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":"Integrated farming optimization ensures high-yield crop production with decreased nitrogen leaching and improved soil fertility: The findings from a 12-year experimental study","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109572","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109572","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context or problem</h3><p>Sustainable farming practices, including precision fertilization, water-saving irrigation and recycling of organic materials, have been implemented worldwide in recent decades to achieve high crop yields and minimize nonpoint source pollution. However, the comprehensive impacts of these agricultural practices have seldom been systematically evaluated in field production. As agricultural intensification started in the 1980s, most previous studies focused on a single practice in the context of low land productivity.</p></div><div><h3>Objective or research question</h3><p>The objective of this research is to investigate and evaluate how holistic farming practices affect both crop production and environmental quality.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We reported findings from a 12-year experiment (2008–2020) in the highly intensive North China Plain (NCP) farming region, and conventional and optimized farming measures were compared. Three field treatments with annual double cropping (winter wheat (<em>Triticum aestivum</em> L<em>.</em>) and summer maize (Z<em>ea mays</em> L<em>.</em>)) were chosen in the study, i.e., control without nitrogen (N) application (CK), farmers’ conventional practices (CON), and optimized practices (OPT), were chosen for this study.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Compared with the CON treatment, OPT reduced N fertilizer input by 41.4 % and irrigation water by 27.1 % but produced similar grain yields; OPT increased the N recovery efficiency (RE_N) and N utilization efficiency (NUT₂E) by 90.4 % and 53.0 %, respectively; these values were much greater than the increases in RE_N (+56.1 %) and NUT₂E (+25.5 %) when soil N change was not considered. Similarly, compared with those in the CON treatment, the soil N stock (0–60 cm) in the OPT treatment increased by 8.4 %, and the N loss via leaching, ammonia volatilization and N₂O + NO + N₂ decreased by 47.1 %, 11.4 % and 28.6 %, respectively.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Our study revealed that the integration of optimized practices of organic material recycling, precision fertilization and water-saving irrigation substantially reduced N losses, mainly through decreased N leaching, but maintained fertilizer N in the root-zone soil layer, which is important for a sustainable and high-yield crop production.</p></div><div><h3>Implications or significances</h3><p>The dissemination of these optimized practices to other regions in China and beyond will be highly important for achieving the dual goals of food security and environmental protection.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378429024003253/pdfft?md5=7f4b298301cf0b37bd927675a59ec53e&pid=1-s2.0-S0378429024003253-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142163874","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":"Effects of phosphorus fertilizer type and dripline depth on root and soil nutrient distribution, nutrient uptake, and maize yield under subsurface drip fertigation","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109585","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109585","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context</h3><p>Subsurface drip irrigation can potentially increase nutrient uptake by altering the spatial distribution of nutrients and roots, but the efficiency enhancement potential of different phosphorus (P) sources combined with varying dripline depths still requires further evaluation.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We established a 2-year field experiment with spring maize in 2021 and 2022 to determine the regulatory effects of three P sources [P1, monoammonium phosphate (MAP); P2, ammonium polyphosphate (APP); and P0, no P] and three dripline depths (D0, surface drip irrigation, 0 cm; D15, subsurface at 15 cm depth; and D30, subsurface at 30 cm depth) on the soil NO₃-N, NH₄-N and Olsen-P distribution, root distribution, nitrogen (N) fertilizer partial factor productivity (PFPN) and P use efficiency (PUE), and grain yield.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>We found a significant coupling effect between the P source and dripline depth, both of which significantly impacted soil nutrients and root distribution, grain yield, PFPN, and PUE. In P1D15 and P2D15, the highest soil NO₃-N and Olsen-P contents were observed at soil depths of 0–30 and 10–20 cm and at 0–30 and 10–30 cm, respectively. Similarly, in P1D30 and P2D30, which were 20–40 and 20–40 cm, and 20–40 and 30–60 cm, respectively. Compared to the other treatments, P2D15 and P1D30 exhibited considerable increases in root length density at the 30–60 cm soil depth of 37∼52 % and 28∼58 %, respectively. Regardless of the dripline depth, P0 resulted in the lowest yield during both growing seasons. P1D30 and P2D15 were found to be the optimal combinations for achieving higher grain yield, PFPN, and PUE, as they were able to achieve a high degree of coordination between soil available N and Olsen-P, as well as root distribution.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The recommended approach for optimizing nutrient and root spatial distributions under subsurface drip irrigation systems involves the use of poly-P fertilizer (APP) in conjunction with shallow dripline depth and ortho-P fertilizer (MAP) paired with deep dripline depth, which provides valuable guidance for co-fertigation practices involving N and P fertilizers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142163872","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":"Millets and sorghum as promising alternatives to maize for enhancing climate change adaptation strategies in the Mediterranean Basin","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109563","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109563","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Context&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Climate change is increasingly requiring the adoption of both climate-resilient alternative crops and sustainable management practices. Millets and sorghum are increasingly recommended as alternatives to maize in addressing these issues, yet there are no studies comparing the environmental impacts of food-crop millets and sorghum with maize, under sustainable management in Mediterranean area.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Objective&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;The present study examined for the first time the environmental and economic impacts, as well as agronomic performances, of rainfed cultivated proso millet, sorghum and maize over a three-year period under challenging climatic conditions in Emilia-Romagna region, Italy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Different kinds of trials were realized during three years of experimentation in one location in Ravenna province. The first trial aimed to compare proso millet, sorghum and maize agronomical performances and water use efficiency in a low-input system. The second trial aimed to compare soil fertility and biodiversity impacts of two different agronomical management systems (low-input and high input) for the summer crops previously described. Soil basic fertility parameters were monitored and ground dwelling arthropods were collected and analyzed using pitfall traps. The last trial of this study intended to evaluate the environmental and economic performances of the previous cereal crops cultivated in the low-input and high-input systems, applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methodologies.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Both organic sorghum and millet showed high potential as viable summer-crop alternatives, not only to organic maize, based on yield, water use efficiency, disease tolerance and weed competition, but also to conventional maize, based on reduced environmental and economic impacts. Positive land impacts including improved beneficial arthropod abundances and preserved soil fertility were evident under organic management. In fact, the comparative LCA and LCC, carried out with primary data from conventionally cultivated maize and sorghum within central-north Italy and the organic experimental field under investigation, showed that the Global Warming and Eutrophication Potential, were comparable between the organically cultivated crops and significantly lower than conventional maize and sorghum.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusions&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;The results highlighted the potential of sorghum and millet cultivation as rainfed summer-crop alternative to maize in climate-change context, especially in low-input agronomical systems. In particular, under rainfed, organic management over three years, proso millet yielded consistently.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Implications&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Under the sustainable practices of the present study, proso millet outperformed maize for yield and WUE stability, as well as potential costs saved, related to the production amount per unit area and potenti","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378429024003162/pdfft?md5=fdd74a9348d6185ed658be1d0034996c&pid=1-s2.0-S0378429024003162-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142158449","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":"Biogas digestate as a potential nitrogen source enhances soil fertility, rice nitrogen metabolism and yield","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109568","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109568","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><p>Substituting chemical fertilizers with biogas digestate can mitigate the negative impacts of fertilizers on soil quality to promote the recycling of livestock manure. This study aims to evaluate the effects of chicken manure biogas digestate as a replacement for chemical fertilizers in rice cultivation, assessing soil nutrients dynamics, bacterial communities, nitrogen (N) metabolism enzyme activity, and rice growth.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>In this study, six treatments were established: no fertilizer (CK), conventional fertilization (CF), and varying proportions of biogas digestate and other N substitution fertilizers (25 %, 50 %, 75 %, and 100 %TP). A three-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate soil nutrient levels, bacterial community abundance, N functional gene expression, rice growth conditions, and N metabolism enzyme activities using standard physical and chemical methods, high-throughput sequencing, and enzyme activity assays.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Our experimental results showed that biogas digestate application promoted rice growth, while the higher biogas digestate doses increased the leaf chlorophyll SPAD values and delayed rice maturity. Compared to the CF treatment, the 75 % TP treatment significantly enhanced rice yield and economic returns. Biogas digestate increased the activities of nitrate reductase (NTR), glutamate synthase (GTS), glutamine synthetase (GLS), glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOT), and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) in rice leaves and grains, leading to the higher amino acid and soluble protein contents in the grains. Compared to the CK treatment, biogas digestate application increased soil pH, soil organic matter, alkaline N, available phosphorus, and available potassium by 22.14 %, 37.04 %, 39.38 %, and 39.40 %, respectively. It also enhanced the levels of nitrate N, ammonium N, and soluble organic N in soil. Furthermore, biogas digestate application significantly (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) improved soil bacterial community diversity and stability, as well as the abundance of N metabolism functional genes.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Our findings suggest that substituting 75 % of chemical fertilizers with biogas digestate can serve as an optimal application rate for rice cultivation. This application in paddy field does not only reduce chemical fertilizer usage but also enhance soil nutrient content and microbial diversity. It further promotes rice growth and N metabolism enzyme activity, benefiting the increase of both rice yield and quality.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142148388","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 nitrogen rates for winter wheat using in-season crop N status indicators","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109545","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109545","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Conventionally, split nitrogen (N) applications at tillering and stem elongation enhance winter wheat yield, protein content, and nitrogen use efficiency. Vegetation indices, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Red Edge index (NDRE), and leaf chlorophyll content (LCC) can be used as crop N status indicators (CNSIs) to easily underline the N deficiency. The aim of this study, conducted across 4 growing seasons in North-West Italy, was to create a model for regulating wheat fertilization rates and improve crop yield. The model relies on CNSIs measurements collected during the initial stages of stem elongation, aiming to achieve predetermined yield targets. In each year, the experimental design was a factorial combination of four N rates (0, 33, 66, and 99 kg N ha⁻¹) at tillering and five at stem elongations (0, 33, 66, 99 and 132 kg N ha⁻¹). The Aubusson cultivar, characterized by intermediate yield potential and protein content, was used to calibrate and validate the model in a 3-year trial (2018–2020), while the model was also applied to cv LG Ayrton (high yield potential) and Izalco (high protein content) in the 2020–21 season. Yield and protein content trends in function of N rate were parabolic or sigmoidal respectively and both tillering and stem elongation rate contributed to increase the grain yield and protein content. Furthermore, the significant interaction between tillering and stem elongation fertilization on grain yield suggested the possibility of correcting the N deficiency after tillering fertilization with a further application. A calibration function for a variable rate application was established related to the CNSIs; all of them were good predictors but NDRE showed a higher overall correlation (R² = 0.479) with grain yield than NDVI (R²= 0.461) or the LCC values (R²= 0.236) considering all the 3 years of experiments. The model’s intercept was reduced according to the decrease in the grain yield goal. The model's validation was accomplished by comparing the outcomes predicted by the model yields with the measured. The yield’s Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values were low for cv. Aubusson (0.85, on average) in all 3 years, while the RMSE was higher in 2021 for LG Ayrton (1.90) and Izalco (1.35), in a production situation with a higher yield potential. The results suggest that the topdressing N fertilization rate could be accurately determined from measured CNSI values for a site-specific N fertilization management, but they also highlight the requirement of a model adaptation for different genotypes and environments.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378429024002983/pdfft?md5=d02632d7b666ec6d80c00707ed35d55a&pid=1-s2.0-S0378429024002983-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142148387","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":"Is partial substitution of animal manure for synthetic fertilizer a viable N2O mitigation option? An integrative global meta-analysis","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109574","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109574","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Context or problem</h3><p>Partially substituting synthetic fertilizer by animal manure has been proposed as a sustainable agricultural practice, from the perspectives of improving soil quality and mitigating climate warming.</p></div><div><h3>Objective or research question</h3><p>Previous studies showed that manure application combined with synthetic fertilizer (MACSF) also altered soil nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions, while the magnitude varied substantially among experiments. We hypothesized that the difference in local conditions may be responsible for the contrasting impact of MACSF on N₂O emissions, while their significance and relative importance have not been explicitly assessed.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>In order to quantify the response of N₂O emissions to MACSF and its geographic variability, we conducted a meta-analysis by combining 291 observations from 103 sites across the globe. Also, we evaluated the impact of local conditions on N₂O emissions and compared their relative importance using the gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) algorithm.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Overall, MACSF did not have significant effect on soil N₂O emissions, with a global average effect size (ES) of 1.07 ± 0.10 (95 % confidence interval, CI) relative to the same amount of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. The corresponding N₂O emission factor (EF) was estimated as 0.93 ± 0.13 % (95 % CI). However, both ES and EF varied substantially with local conditions, of which the substitution ratio (SR) and soil pH were identified as the most important factors. The ES increased significantly (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.01) with the increasing SR. Critical SR was approx. 50 %, above which MACSF may exacerbate N₂O emissions. Moreover, both response indices increased significantly with the decreasing soil pH. MACSF in acidic soils (pH &lt; 6.5) tended to increase N₂O emissions, with ES significantly (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) higher than 1.0.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The contribution of MACSF to N₂O mitigation varies subustantially with local conditions, of which SR and soil pH are the most important two. MACSF reduces N₂O emissions only in the cases with low SR and neutral to alkaline soils.</p></div><div><h3>Implications or significance</h3><p>This study offers an integrative global synthesis of the impact of MACSF on N₂O emissions. By identifying the key controlling factors, the findings serve to guide the development of region-specific tailored substitution strategies, considering its contribution to N₂O emission mitigation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":12143,"journal":{"name":"Field Crops Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142148385","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}