2017 March - 25 articles
In nature, plants integrate a wide range of light signals from solar radiation to adapt to the surrounding light environment, and these light signals also regulate a variety of important agronomic traits. Blue light-sensing cryptochrome (cry) and red...
Maize production in Uganda is constrained by various factors, but especially drought and stem borers contribute to significant yield losses. Genetically modified (GM) maize with increased drought tolerance and/or Bt insect resistance (producing the B...
The population of Africa will double in the next 33 years to reach 2.5 billion by 2050. Although roughly 60% of the continent’s population is engaged in agriculture, the produce from this sector cannot feed its citizens. Hence, in 2013 alone, Africa...
The perception and absorption of light by plants is a driving force in plant evolutionary history, as plants have evolved multiple photoreceptors to perceive different light attributes including duration, intensity, direction and quality. Plant...
In northern Europe, replacing winter barley with winter wheat as the preceding crop for winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.; WOSR) often results in a delayed WOSR sowing and poor autumn growth. Based on data from a field experiment running in 2009...
Because of continuing increases in atmospheric CO2, identifying cultivars of crops with larger yield increases at elevated CO2 may provide an avenue to increase crop yield potential in future climates. Free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) systems have most...
Seasonal growth patterns of perennial plants are linked to patterns of acclimation and de-acclimation to seasonal stresses. The timing of cold acclimation (development of freezing resistance) and leaf growth cessation in autumn, and the timing of de-...
This review deals with the adaptive mechanisms that plants can implement to cope with the challenge of salt stress. Plants tolerant to NaCl implement a series of adaptations to acclimate to salinity, including morphological, physiological and biochem...
Flowering time is a key target trait for extending the vegetative phase to increase biomass in bioenergy crops such as perennial C4 grasses. Molecular genetic studies allow the identification of genes involved in the control of flowering in different...
Forage legumes have a relatively high biomass yield and crude protein content, but their grazed and harvested biomass lacks the high-energy carbohydrates required to meet the productivity potential of modern livestock breeds. Because of their low car...
Leaf senescence is a long developmental phase important for plant performance and nutrient management. Cell constituents are recycled in old leaves to provide nutrients that are redistributed to the sink organs. Up to now, metabolomic changes during...
Phalaris aquatica is a cool-season perennial grass species that is extensively cultivated in Australia, with additional usage in other areas of the world. Phalaris displays a number of desirable agronomic characteristics, although unfavourable traits...
The combination of biochar (BC) with compost has been suggested to be a promising strategy to promote plant growth and performance, but although “synergistic” effects have been stated to occur, full-factorial experiments are few, and explicit tests f...
Remotely-sensed canopy temperature from infrared thermometer (IRT) sensors has long been shown to be effective for detecting plant water stress. A field study was conducted to investigate peach tree responses to deficit irrigation which was controlle...
Brachiaria grass is an emerging forage option for livestock production in Kenya. Kenya lies within the center of diversity for Brachiaria species, thus a high genetic variation in natural populations of Brachiaria is expected. Overgrazing and clearin...
A field experiment was conducted at three locations in the southern region of Ethiopia during the 2012 and 2013 cropping seasons to evaluate chickpea cultivars for their response to soil zinc application, including agronomic performance, grain yield,...
Round-bale silage harvesting and processing methods were assessed to evaluate overwintering ability and dry matter (DM) yield, fermentation quality and palatability of overwintered dwarf Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) in the two years fo...
A novel new way to achieve chemical-free defoliation of cotton is discussed. The research found that by severing the phloem tissue on the main stalk, via a girdling operation, the operation stimulated the cotton plant to alter its growth into an earl...
The editors of agronomy would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2016.[...]
Peat is used as rooting medium in greenhouse horticulture. Biochar is a sustainable alternative for the use of peat, which will reduce peat derived carbon dioxide emissions. Biochar in potting soil mixtures allegedly increases water storage, nutrient...
In recent years, with climate change, drought stress has been witnessed in many parts of the world. In many irrigated regions also, shortage of water supply allows only limited irrigation. These conditions have an adverse effect on the productivity o...
Previous work has shown that a short non-saline sprinkling, following saline sprinkling, increased crop growth. We incorporated this finding into an investigation of two approaches to the conjunctive use of saline and non-saline water sources for spr...
This paper reviews the current status, methodology, achievements, and prospects of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) breeding in China. There are 77 cultivars that have been registered in the country, these include 36 cultivars bred through breeding progr...
Soil fertility is one of the major limiting factors for crop’s productivity in Egypt and the world in general. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) has a great importance as a non-polluting and a cost-effective way to improve soil fertility through sup...
Breeding of native cool-season grasses has the potential to improve forage production and expand the range of bioenergy feedstocks throughout western North America. Basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus) and creeping wildrye (Leymus triticoides) rank among...
