When water and nutrients are not limiting, and pests and disease are effectively controlled, crop growth and yield is determined by weather conditions such as temperature and solar radiation. To determine the relationship between weather indices and crop yield, multiple wheat varieties were sown at two sowing times, for five sowing seasons and at two locations. The following weather indices around the 50% anthesis stage were recorded and analysed: mean temperature (Tmean), maximum temperature (Tmax), number of days with temperature >30°C (T30), vapour pressure deficit (VPD), photosynthetically active radiation, photothermal quotient (PQ) and photothermal quotient corrected for vapour pressure deficit (PQvpd). Overall, for every 1°C rise in temperature, crop yield decreased by 370 kg/ha. For every 1°C rise in temperature, normal sowing window yield decreased by 360 kg/ha while late-sown wheat yield decreased by 640 kg/ha. Correlation analysis was conducted between the weather indices and grain number, grain yield and grain protein. There was a significant positive correlation between PQ and PQvpd and grain number and grain yield. There was a significant negative correlation between Tmean, Tmax, T30 and VPD and grain number and grain yield. Grain protein content showed a positive correlation with maximum air temperature and a negative correlation with the weather indices PQ and PQvpd. PQ and PQvpd can be used to predict grain number and grain yield potential. This study showed that grain number and grain yield predicted using PQ and PQvpd are more reliable than using temperature and radiation individually.

Climate change has an impact on soybean production in the USA, necessitating thorough impact studies across broad geographic areas and extended periods to develop appropriate coping strategies. This study investigates the simulated response of soybean in ten major soybean-growing states of the USA under Climate Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 based on multiple global climate models, two representative concentration pathways [RCP8.5 and RCP4.5] under rainfed and irrigated conditions for 2013–2039, 2043–2069, 2063–2099. The future climate series was developed using Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project protocol by applying mean and variability, and CROPGRO-soybean model was explored for soybean simulation under 400 ppm CO2 level and a set of management. Under future climate, intense changes in temperature, precipitation amount and variability are anticipated under RCP8.5 than RCP4.5. As a result, a shorter life cycle, more evapotranspiration, lower grain production, higher water consumption and water productivity were expected under RCP8.5 than RCP4.5 scenarios. A higher reduction in grain yield and water productivity is expected under rainfed than irrigated conditions and intensity increases with advancement towards end of the century. Irrigation tends to decrease adverse climate change effects; however, the marginal economy for irrigation water must be assessed. Since the northern states under study are likely to experience increased grain yields or lower negative impacts, these areas could be the major production zones for soybean production in the future if only climate change is taken into account. Before reaching a convincing conclusion, different adaptation strategies must be thoroughly investigated.

Late planting due to erratic onset of the rainy season is becoming more frequent in the Sahelo-Sudanian climate where cotton is grown, causing seed cotton yield (SCY) loss and higher risk of drought at the end of the crop cycle. Therefore, cultivars should be adapted to late (from July 10) planting date (PD) in Senegal. The aim of this study was to analyse the interaction between genotypes and PD on SCY in Senegal under rainfed conditions. Field experiments were conducted in 2018 and 2019 using a split-plot design (two PDs, eight cultivars) at three experimental stations. Robust analysis of SCY was used to moderate the effect of potential outliers. The average SCY was 1404 kg/ha under early planting, and 714 kg/ha under late planting. The best SCY was obtained under early planting conditions, in environments with good rainfall. The loss due to late planting was significantly affected by cultivar choice. None of the cultivars performed best under both early and late PD. Under early PD, cultivar CS 50 gave the best SCY, while under late PD it was cultivar IRMA Q302. The best performing cultivar on average depended on the proportion of early plantings. A model was developed to identify the best overall cultivar based on the expected proportion of early planting, as a decision support tool for the cotton development company, if only one cultivar is released. The benefit of releasing a second cultivar for late-planted fields is considered.

The land cover of the Sanjiang Plain has changed dramatically since the 1950s. Although previous studies have analysed its spatiotemporal dynamics at long time intervals, a near real-time and accurate representation of the interannual evolution of cropping patterns in this region is of far-reaching importance for rationally allocating agricultural resources and ensuring food security. Based on the 30 m and 10 m land cover datasets in 2015 and 2017–2019, the current study used Landsat-8 satellite data in 2014, 2016 and 2020 to identify paddy rice and dryland crops using a decision tree classification approach and constructed the annual cropland datasets of the Sanjiang Plain from 2014 to 2020. The results show that the overall classification accuracies of crop datasets exceeded 95%, and the Kappa coefficients were higher than 0.92. The average annual accuracies of users and producers were 93% and 94% for rice fields and 97% and 95% for dryland crops, respectively. During the 7 years, the total area of paddy fields and dryland crops decreased by 5% and 8%. However, with minor positive and negative variation between years. 24.2% of paddy rice and 42% of dryland crops has been cultivated under 4 years. The centres of gravity for both crops mainly aggregated in the central counties with the migration direction and magnitude varying interannually. The current study emphasizes the importance of establishing annual high-resolution crop datasets to track the detailed spatio-temporal trajectories of cropping patterns that are essential to support sustainable cropland management and agricultural development.

In view of the celebration of the ‘International Year of Millets,’ millets are popularizing sustainable agricultural output amid challenging climates and nourishing adequately as food and feed. The extent of scientific intervention is the foundation for designing, promoting and popularizing neglected crops on social platforms. Planning future directions and adaptive strategies largely require regular evaluation of research efforts to identify hotspots and research gaps, as identified in the present study by creating a robust text-mining approach that integrates scientometrics using PubMed citation data. Keyword mining reveals that India and China are the leading publication centres on millets, possibly due to their large proportion of cultivation and indigenous nature. It further reveals that the pearl millet is the predominant one, followed by foxtail and finger millet, suggesting that most research is confined to them only; however, other millets, still have a research gap in comparison. The word abiotic stress is associated with high frequency in millet research due to its adaptive nature amid climate change. Thematic representation explored the novel concept of millet's utility as a probiotic and millet bran to ensure nutrient–cereal properties based on the persistency of keywords throughput research progression; however, incurious consumption is associated with harmful ochratoxin. Bio-concept mining and knowledge graph generation divided the millet research output into four large domains, which provides a largely covered bio-concepts for millet research and co-concurrence of emerging bio-concepts to intense progress and finds an adequate literature gap to improve millet research for sustained growth and equilibrate biodiversity.

CERES-Wheat model was used to simulate wheat yield with ensemble model data for three time slices (2030–2050, 2050–2070 and 2070–2090) and four representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios (2.6, 4.5, 6.0 and 8.5) for four agroclimatic zones (ACZs) of Punjab. The study was conducted for wheat cultivars (HD2967 and PBW725) with two adaptation measures, i.e. shift in sowing dates and shift in sowing date plus additional nitrogen doses. The results showed that 24th November was the optimized sowing date and the yield were higher when supplemented with higher N doses (190 and 230 kg/ha). For the three time slices under RCP2.6 scenario, an increase in yield with combined adaptation measures for four ACZs and respectively for cvs. HD2967 and PBW725 ranged 16–32 and 16–33% (ACZII), 11–39 and 22–43% (ACZIII), 8–47 and 20–51% (ACZIV) and 15–32 and 22–42% (ACZV). Similarly, under stabilization scenarios (RCP4.5 and 6.0) the yield increased with combined adaptation measures and respectively for cvs. HD2967 and PBW725 ranged 15–32 and 14–31% (ACZII), 10–40 and 19–52% (ACZIII), 5–44 and 7–53% (ACZIV) and 14–32 and 20–42% (ACZV). The shortening of the maturity period for the two cultivars ranged 24–34 (ACZII), 21–36 (ACZIII), 9–19 (ACZIV) and 21–32 (ACZV) days under the future scenarios. Under the RCP8.5 scenario, the wheat cultivars were unable to yield higher even with combined adaptation measures during the end of 21st century. Thus, wheat would be a sustainable crop option under climate change in the state, if the sowing date was shifted to 24th November and supplemented with higher N dose.

The objective of this research was to assess the adoption of circular agricultural practices as a tool to improve the recovery use efficiency of phosphorus (P) applied to tropical soils. Two Brazilian farms (1 and 2) that are under long-term no-till and cropped year-round with cover and/or cash crops were used in this study. Soybean, maize and common bean were grown during the summer season (October–February), followed by wheat, common bean and maize during the winter season (February–August). Brachiaria ruziziensis was intercropped with off-season maize. Farm 1 also grew sweet potatoes in rotation with grains. In the integrated crop–livestock system, the leftovers from the silos and crop residues were used to feed beef cattle, while the residues not used in the confinement were turned into compost and applied in the production fields. During the last 3 years, 80 (farm 1) and 71 (farm 2) kg/ha/year of P-fertilizer was applied to meet the demand of the different crops and 56% (farm 1) and 58% (farm 2) of P-fertilizer was exported through the crops and livestock. P-recovery represented more than 50% on both farms. Around 60% of the P consumed by animals was excreted in the form of faeces and urine and the animal manure was used to produce organic compost. Therefore, most of the P consumed by the livestock was returned back to the field to serve as organic fertilizer. This study showed that circular agricultural practices can enhance P-recovery.

Arising of disasters by climate change had affected crop growth and yield, and then threaten local to global food security, particularly heat stress. Therefore, hazard assessment is essential to develop effective disaster risk management and adaptation interventions to ensure food security. In this study, the accumulated heat stress days (DAY), heat stress intensity (HSI) and heat degree-days (HDD) during the post-silking period of summer maize in The Huang-Huai-Hai Plain were investigated. Based on the optimal probability distribution function of HDD and information diffusion theory, we compute heat stress classification index and the possibility of heat stress, respectively. During 1981–2019, DAY, HSI and HDD were 11.8 d, 31.9°C and 23.6°Cd and increased by 0.67 d/decade, 0.10°C/decade and 3.14°Cd/decade, respectively. The threshold and hazard probability of mild, moderate and severe heat stress were 9.4, 19.4 and 34.2°Cd and 16.6, 9.3 and 4.5%, respectively. The heat stress hazard index (M) was 0.48, ranged from 0 to 0.77 during 1981 to 2019. M will increase in the future at all regions, particularly after 2060. Under SSP5-8.5 climate scenario, M ranged from 0.95 to 1.20 in 2080s, about two times than historical period. This could be used in optimizing agricultural management in summer maize production in order to combat heat stress under projected climate change.

Lemongrass essential oil (LEO) has been evaluated as a silage additive to improve silage fermentation and reduce fermentative losses. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of increasing levels of LEO on whole-plant sorghum silage (WPSS) fermentation profile, fermentation losses, chemical composition, dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) in vitro degradation and aerobic stability. Five cultivars and fifty experimental silos were used to evaluate the following LEO levels: 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 ml kg−1 DM of WPSS. The material was compacted (650 kg m−2) and the silos were sealed, weighed and stored at room temperature for 167 days. The addition of LEO linearly decreased butyric acid content and the ratio between lactic and acetic acids. Intermediate levels of LEO increased NH3-N and reduced lactic and acetic acids content. LEO linearly decreased silage gas losses. However, LEO did not affect total silage losses and DM recovery. Intermediate levels of LEO addition decreased organic matter and crude protein in the WPSS. The addition of LEO did not affect other chemical composition parameters, DM and NDF in vitro degradation, and pH and temperature of the silage after aerobic exposure. Thus, LEO supply in WPSS reduces gas losses, butyric acid concentration, and the ratio between lactic and acetic acids. However, LEO does not improve the chemical composition, in vitro degradation, and aerobic stability of WPSS.

Australia has a diverse and unique native flora with thousands of edible plant taxa, many of which are wild relatives of important food crops. These have the potential to diversify and improve the sustainability of Australian farming systems. However, the current level of domestication and cultivation of Australian plants as food crops is extremely limited by global standards. This review examines the current status and potential for future de novo domestication and large-scale cultivation of Australian plants as food crops. This is done in the context of international new crop development and factors that impact the success or failure of such efforts. Our review finds considerable potential for native Australian plants to be developed as food crops, but the industry faces several significant challenges. The current industry focuses on niche food markets that are susceptible to oversupply. It also suffers from inconsistent quantity and quality of product, which is attributed to a reliance on wild harvesting and the cultivation of unimproved germplasm. More active cultivation is necessary for industry growth, but attempts have historically failed due to poorly adapted germplasm and a lack of agronomic information. The de novo domestication and large-scale cultivation of Australian plants as food crops will require an investment in publicly supported multidisciplinary research and development programmes. Research programmes must prioritize the exploration of plants throughout Australia and the collection and evaluation of germplasm. Programmes must also seek to engage relevant stakeholders, pursue participatory research models and provide appropriate engagement and benefit-sharing opportunities with Indigenous Australian communities.

Long-term intensive tea cultivation is suspected of deteriorating soil quality status and degrading land sustainability. This study aimed to determine the soil quality index of soils in a micro-catchment in Rize Province, Turkey, used for long-term intensive tea cultivation, by means of spatial multi-criteria analysis (SMCA) and standard scoring function (SSF) integrated with geographical information system (GIS) and geostatistics, considering bio-physical-chemical properties of a detailed soil dataset. Soil samples (102) were collected from the surface layer (0–20 cm). In the soil quality index for tea-cultivated soils (TSQI), soil indicators were weighted by an analytical hierarchy. Various indicator units were normalized with the SSF. The TSQI model was divided into five main criteria: (i) physical properties, (ii) chemical properties, (iii) fertility, (iv) biological indicators and (v) soil erosion susceptibility parameters. Principal components analysis (PCA) was applied and minimum dataset (MDS) created to determine the most effective indicators. The spatial distribution pattern of the tea total dataset soil quality index (TSQITDS) and tea minimum dataset soil quality index (TSQIMDS) values were statistically similar. TSQITDS low and very low-class areas accounted for 34.1% of the total area, while TSQIMDS low and very low-class areas constituted 33.6%. These areas, especially those with low soil quality properties, were in the northern and north-western parts of the micro-catchment. TSQITDS very high and high-class areas accounted for 56.2% of the total area, while TSQIMDS very high and high-class areas were found in 55.3% of the total area. These areas are located in the south of the micro-catchment.

Mixed crop–livestock systems, the world's most widespread farming systems, promote farm resilience through diversification and allow for crop–livestock integration (CLI). Intensification and specialization challenge these systems. In Northwest Vietnam, the standard farm model is based on mixed crop–livestock family farms but is shifting towards more specialized farming systems. The aim of the current study was to identify the new balance between livestock and crops on farms in Northwest Vietnam and to examine the effects of specialization on CLI practices and production system intensification by identifying current CLI practices and performing a retrospective analysis of changes in these practices. One hundred farms were surveyed and 24 interviews on farm trajectories were conducted in Dien Bien district (Dien Bien province) between January and April 2022. Based on the level of CLI and farm diversification, seven types of farms were identified and classified into three categories: (B) mixed farms, (A) farms specializing in livestock and (C) farms specializing in crops. The study of farm trajectories revealed three main changes: the conversion of mixed crop–livestock farms into more specialized crop systems, a change from mixed crop–livestock to more specialized family livestock farms and a change in the management of large ruminant herds and their feed system from free grazing to forage-fed systems. Understanding these changes will help identify drivers and potential constraints to the development of new practices for the integration of crop and livestock farming.

Grassland production based on cutting-only and an increasing frequency of prolonged periods of drought due to climate change could lead to decreased productivity in Lolium perenne. In field experiments, we tested whether Festuca arundinacea and Phleum pratense could be suitable alternatives to L. perenne on intensively managed grassland on clay, peat and sandy soil. The three grasses were sown in mixture with Poa pratensis and Trifolium repens and subjected to different frequencies of defoliation representing a cutting-only system, simulated grazing system and a mixed system. We found that in systems with at least six defoliations, F. arundinacea represented an acceptable compromise between feed quality (6.4 MJ net energy/kg dry matter (DM), 19.3% crude protein, CP), persistence (mass proportion >90%), and DM yield (12.7 Mg/ha). However, for dairy production based on intensive cutting-only systems, the quality of F. arundinacea was insufficient (5.9 MJ net energy/kg DM, 15.6% CP). Mixtures with P. pratense as the main sown species did not differ significantly in production of net energy and CP from L. perenne in cutting-only systems on sandy soil. On peat land, all sown mixtures were invaded by Holcus lanatus. We found that under frequent defoliation conditions, H. lanatus-rich swards had comparatively good DM yields (9.2 Mg/ha) and a feed quality that would be sufficient for dairy cow nutrition (net energy, 6.2–6.4 MJ/kg DM; 18.8–20.4% CP). We conclude that there is potential to adapt the choice of grasses and mixtures in different production systems to meet the challenges of climate change.

Small-grain farming systems in Mediterranean climatic regions are characterized by poor quality soils, high climate variability, and resulting heavy agrochemical reliance. The adoption of Conservation Agriculture, based on minimum tillage, permanent soil cover, and crop rotations, has improved soil quality, enhanced crop productivity, and help mitigate financial risk. However, emerging issues that threaten sustainability, such as herbicide resistance, inputs costs rising disproportionately to product prices, and increasing climate variability and unpredictability, drive the need for innovation in small-grain Mediterranean-based CA systems. The aim of the review was to evaluate a set of agroecological practices which constitute a Regenerative Agriculture (RA) concept, for their potential to address these challenges from a soil quality, crop productivity and whole-farm economics perspective. Organic soil amendments derived from agro-wastes, offer promising perspectives for supplying appropriate quantities of nutrients to reduce or replace mineral fertilisers and offset their economic and agroecological costs. Although the viability of microbial bioeffectors in small-grain agroecosystems was largely under question, non-microbial bioeffectors and certain combination options represent more efficient and cost-effective uses of this technology. Their widely reported abiotic stress priming functions and crop productivity enhancement under poor growing conditions may improve yield stability and financial resilience in small-grain Mediterranean CA systems. Finally, multi-species cover crops subjected to adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing as a phase within the crop rotation may reduce weed pressure, enhance soil multi-functionality, and resilience against environmental stresses. To validate the potential of these technologies in Mediterranean small-grain systems, more long-term and context-specific research is called for.

The current study evaluated alternative sources of nutrients to improve the soil fertility status and yield of maize-wheat succession in Southern Brazil. The treatments were: T1: no fertilization; T2: liming with dolomitic marble; T3: alternative liming (AL) with limestone interbedded with shale; T4: AL + 50% P - with Arad natural phosphate (P-ANP) + 50% P – triple superphosphate (P-TSP); T5: AL + 100% P-ANP; T6: AL + 100% P-ANP + 100% K-rich monzogranite; T7: AL + 100% P-ANP + 100% N (50% N from tung pressed cake (N-TPC) + 50% N-urea); T8: AL + 100% P-ANP + 100% K-rich monzogranite + 100% N (50% N-TPC + 50% N-Urea) + 100% S; T9: AL + regional average rate of NPK (5-20-20) formulation. Except for T7 and T8, all treatments received the full recommended rate of N through Urea. Immediate and residual effects were evaluated over 2.5 years (90, 360 and 900 days) on soil fertility and maize - wheat yield. The limestone interbedded with shale released Ca, Mg and corrected soil acidity similarly to dolomitic marble. The fertilization strategies used in T4, T7 and T8 presented the highest cumulative productivities while T3 (U$ = 1223), T9 (U$ = 1174) and T4 (U$ = 1122) resulted in higher profits than the other evaluated fertilization strategies. The limestone interbedded with shale (T3), alone or combined with 50% of P-ANP + 50% of P – TSP (T4) provided the best economical and technical results, highlighting the potential of selected alternative regional sources for soil fertility improvement and plant-nutrients supply.

Chemical defoliants are widely used in cotton (Gossypium L.) to accelerate leaf abscission and boll maturation, as well as, to facilitate mechanical harvesting. The current study was conducted to determine the interactive effect of cotton cultivars and spraying time of defoliant on defoliation, boll opening, fibre yield and quality. An experiment was performed with four cultivars and three defoliant spraying time during 2019 and 2020 in split plot design with three replications. At harvest, the defoliation and boll opening rate of all treatments after spraying defoliant was 94.6 and 85.4%, while the blank control (water) was 73.9 and 79.1%, respectively. After spraying defoliant, the effects of defoliation rate, boll opening rate, fibre yield and quality were different among cultivars, indicating that different cultivars had different responses to defoliant. Among them, L7619 was the most sensitive to defoliant, with the average defoliation rate of 95.6% and a seed cotton yield reduction of 882.9 kg/ha. Among the different time of applications, late spraying (17 September, B3) of defoliant recorded the highest defoliation rate (97.3%), boll opening rate (89.8%), seed cotton yield (3991 kg/ha) and steadily increased the fibre strength by 0.59 cN/tex compared with the control. Late spraying of defoliant had little or even no adverse effect on the remaining fibre quality traits (length, uniformity, micronaire and elongation). In general, these results suggested that the appropriate time for spraying defoliant can be determined based on the sensitivity of the cotton cultivar, the weather conditions at the field and the harvest time.