Sustainable Warm-Climate Forage Legumes: Versatile Products and Services
, José C. Batista Dubeux Junior 2, Mércia V. Ferreira dos Santos 3, Jamie L. Foster 1, Rinaldo L. Caraciolo Ferreira 3, Mário de Andrade Lira, Jr. 3, Barbara Bellows 4, Edward Osei 4,*, Bir B. Singh 1 and Jeff A. Brady 1Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript presents an extensive and well-organized review on the multiple roles of forage legumes in sustainable agriculture, emphasizing their versatility in providing ecosystem services, improving soil health, contributing to livestock and human nutrition, and serving as bioenergy sources. The authors provide comprehensive coverage of the topic, citing relevant literature and incorporating diverse perspectives on the multifunctionality of forage legumes. While the manuscript is informative and well-researched, there are areas that require further clarification and improvement.
1. The abstract is clear but somewhat wordy. Consider refining the language to make it more concise while preserving key points.
2. The introduction effectively highlights the importance of forage legumes, but the research gaps and specific objectives of the review could be better defined.
3. The paper covers many aspects, but some sections lack smooth transitions, leading to occasional redundancy. Consider reorganizing content to enhance readability.
4. While the manuscript references many studies, some key recent studies (past 3-5 years) on genomics and climate-resilient forage legumes should be incorporated.
5. The paper briefly mentions economic factors but lacks a critical discussion on policy challenges and adoption barriers for sustainable forage legume use.
6. The section on genomic advancements is underdeveloped. Expanding on how genomic tools can improve legume adaptability and productivity would be beneficial.
7. Although climate change is briefly mentioned, an in-depth discussion on how forage legumes can mitigate climate-induced stresses (drought, heat tolerance) would add value.
8. The manuscript would benefit from a concluding section outlining future research priorities and practical recommendations for implementing findings.
9. Future research directions could include the role of artificial intelligence and precision agriculture in optimizing forage legume integration.
Author Response
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Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsOne of the main challenges of today's agriculture around the world is to ensure profitable, environmentally friendly and sustainable production. Having in mind the global importance of legumes for agriculture (high nutritional value, food safety at all levels, good impact on human health, contribution to sustainable agriculture and increase biodiversity) manuscript under the title: “Sustainable forage legumes: versatile products and services are key” focused on importance of legumes for development of multifunctional agriculture.
The review present different roles of forage legumes for sustainable agriculture. The main basis of sustainable and multifunctional agriculture is the increase of legumes share in the structure of sowing which will accelerate transition from conventional to multifunctional agriculture based on legumes. According to this concept, agriculture is required to have three functions: i) economic, ii) social, iii) ecological. Regarding to economic function it is expected to maintain a high yield with lower production costs compared to the current level of industrial production through the implementation of the latest scientific advances. The social function should ensure an increase in the quality of life in the countryside, protection of the traditional landscape and preservation of biodiversity. The ecological function must provide protection of the environment from the negative consequences of agricultural production.
The manuscript should include the name and address of the author's institution (affiliation).
Author Response
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Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThink of intended audience. Do you need to define legume and Pulse? Pulse is used several times before definition on line 139.
section 2.4 consider storage for off season use. Some beans can be stored some not, Milk from ruminants and the ruminants themselves can be harvested outside the growing season of pulses.
line 312 mention trifoliums as they are more common than Lespedeza.
Lines 315 to 330, again trifolium/grass mixtures are far more common around world. Perhaps you are limiting to tropical and subtropical regions - if so, this needs to be stated initially and in abstract.
Mention Greenhouse Gas benefits of using legumes rather than nitrogen fertilizer.
Author Response
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