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Agriculture
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Effect of Cultivation Practices on Crop Yield and Quality
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Effect of Cultivation Practices on Crop Yield and Quality

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 4060

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jan Buczek

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Crop Production, University of Rzeszow, Zelwerowicza 4 St., 35-601 Rzeszow, Poland
Interests: farming systems; tillage systems; fertilization; yield; protein fractions; nutrients; hybrid varieties; cereals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Crop production is essential for both plant and animal food production. Therefore, the demand for plant raw materials is expected to continue to increase, especially in terms of the need to feed the ever-growing population. However, the effects associated with climate change are already reducing crop yields and food quality. On the other hand, over-intensification of crop production has become a major challenge for sustainable agriculture.

Studies on improving crop-cultivation practices, such as enhancing soil fertility, optimizing fertilizer management, using appropriate tillage systems, integrated pest management, crop rotation, and improved cultivars in crop production, can increase the total yield and improve crop quality. It is also important to develop appropriate cultivation practices that protect the production potential of the environment and reduce the scale of its degradation. Abiotic stresses, such as long-term exposure to drought or unstable temperatures caused by global warming during the growing season, can also significantly reduce crop yield and quality.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research, recent studies, reviews, and achievements on the impact of improving various cultivation practices used in crop production technologies, shaping their yield and quality, which is the main goal of sustainable crop production.

We can work together to achieve this goal through genetic advances, precision agriculture, appropriate tillage systems, sustainable fertilization, crop protection practices, or improved irrigation methods.

Dr. Jan Buczek
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • crops yield and quality
  • cultivation practice
  • farming systems
  • tillage systems
  • production technology
  • crop rotation
  • fertilization and plant protection
  • precision agriculture
  • varietal progress

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3586 KiB  
Article
Nitrogen Fertiliser Reduction at Different Rice Growth Stages and Increased Density Improve Rice Yield and Quality in Northeast China
by Wenjun Dong, Yuhan Zhang, Frederick Danso, Jun Zhang, Ao Tang, Youhong Liu, Kai Liu, Ying Meng, Lizhi Wang, Zhongliang Yang and Feng Jiao
Agriculture 2025, 15(8), 892; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15080892 - 20 Apr 2025
Viewed by 184
Abstract
Rice yield and quality decline due to excessive fertiliser use is problematic in China. To increase rice grain filling and improve rice yield and quality, a nitrogen reduction and density increase study in 2023 and 2024 was imposed on a long-term experimental field. [...] Read more.
Rice yield and quality decline due to excessive fertiliser use is problematic in China. To increase rice grain filling and improve rice yield and quality, a nitrogen reduction and density increase study in 2023 and 2024 was imposed on a long-term experimental field. The four treatments adopted for the study were normal nitrogen and normal density (CK), normal nitrogen and increased density (NN+ID), reduced nitrogen in panicle fertiliser and increased density (RPN+ID), and reduced nitrogen in basal fertiliser and increased density (RBN+ID). RPN+ID and RBN+ID, respectively, produced a 3.0% and 5.1% higher yield than CK in both years. The mean grain filling rate (Va) of superior grains in RBN+ID increased by 12.5%, while the mean grain filling rate (Va) of inferior grains in the RPN+ID treatment increased by 4.2% with respect to CK. RPN+ID caused 0.4%, 9.6%, and 13.3% decline in the brown rice rate, chalkiness degree, and chalkiness rate, respectively, while RBN+ID triggered 0.4%, 7.2%, and 11.0% decline in the brown rice rate, chalkiness degree, and chalkiness rate, respectively. RPN+ID stimulated 4.2% and 3.1% increases in flavour and straight-chain amylose values, respectively. Whereas a 20% reduction in basal nitrogen fertiliser and a 32% increase in density improved the yield and appearance quality of rice, a 20% reduction in nitrogen fertiliser at the panicle stage and a 32% increase in density promoted a higher steaming flavour quality. Therefore, an appropriate reduction in nitrogen fertiliser while simultaneously increasing rice density has a significant impact on rice quality, fertiliser pollution reduction, and is a theoretical basis for rice yield and quality improvement in Northeast China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Cultivation Practices on Crop Yield and Quality)
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14 pages, 732 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Sowing Density and Timing on Spike Characteristics of Durum Winter Wheat
by Wiktor Berski, Rafał Ziobro, Anna Gorczyca and Andrzej Oleksy
Agriculture 2025, 15(4), 359; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15040359 - 7 Feb 2025
Viewed by 634
Abstract
Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) is the second most cultivated species of wheat after common wheat. In this study, the physical properties of ears and kernels of durum winter wheat were evaluated, focusing on the effects of sowing date and density. Understanding [...] Read more.
Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) is the second most cultivated species of wheat after common wheat. In this study, the physical properties of ears and kernels of durum winter wheat were evaluated, focusing on the effects of sowing date and density. Understanding these properties is crucial for assessing the quality and technological utility of wheat. Three winter varieties of wheat, Komnata, Pentadur, and Auradur, were cultivated in the Małopolska Voivodeship of Poland. Two sowing dates (optimal and delayed) and three sowing densities (400, 500, and 600 kernels/m2) were employed. Significant variations in morphological traits—including plumpness, uniformity, density, and kernel dimensions—were analyzed. The results indicated that while the sowing date significantly influenced spike characteristics and grain yields, the sowing density had minimal effects. For example, plants sown earlier produced longer spike rachis and higher grain yield, reflecting the correlation between sowing time and spike development. This study highlights that grain plumpness varied significantly due to sowing dates, with delayed sowing yielding higher plumpness percentages. However, the overall volumetric weight of the grains was lower than the standard, indicating suboptimal growing conditions in Małopolska. Ultimately, this research underscores the importance of selecting appropriate sowing dates for optimal developmental outcomes in durum wheat, particularly under atypical growing conditions. Moreover, the results obtained partially indicate that worse physical spike biometry parameters can, to some extent, play a role in determining better quality of grain yield. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Cultivation Practices on Crop Yield and Quality)
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17 pages, 430 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Tillage Systems and Weed Control Methods on Grain Yield and Gluten Protein Compositional and Content-Related Changes in Hybrid Bread Wheat
by Jan Buczek
Agriculture 2024, 14(9), 1558; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14091558 - 9 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 996
Abstract
The use of simplified tillage systems and weed control methods using reduced herbicide doses in wheat production technology is one of the basic requirements of sustainable agriculture in terms of obtaining high-quality grain of this species. The aim of three-year field studies was [...] Read more.
The use of simplified tillage systems and weed control methods using reduced herbicide doses in wheat production technology is one of the basic requirements of sustainable agriculture in terms of obtaining high-quality grain of this species. The aim of three-year field studies was to determine the yield and quality characteristics of hybrid wheat grain depending on two tillage systems (CT and RT) and four weed control methods: mechanical (M) and mechanical–chemical, using recommended herbicide doses (MH100) and doses reduced by 25 and 50% (MH75, MH50). A comparable grain yield, number of grains per spike, weight of one thousand wheat grains, and amount of gluten and ω gliadin subunits (GLI) were obtained in the RT and CT systems. The CT system increased protein content (by 15.2 g kg−1) and the increase in the sum of gluten protein fractions was higher for glutenins (GLU) and their LMW and HMW subunits (from 20.9 to 29.8%). The application of the method with the recommended herbicide dose (MH100), compared to M and MH50, resulted in an increase in grain yield by 0.89 and 1.04 t ha−1, respectively, as well as in the sum of GLI (by 8.4 and 12.3%) and GLU (by 13.7 and 25.3%). The application of the herbicide dose reduced by 25% (MH75) compared to the recommended dose (MH100), especially in the RT system, did not cause a significant decrease in protein content and the amount of GLI and GLU, while reducing grain yield (by 0.26 t ha−1) and the amount of gluten (by 3.1%). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Cultivation Practices on Crop Yield and Quality)
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19 pages, 2140 KiB  
Article
Exploiting the Yield Potential of Spring Barley in Poland: The Roles of Crop Rotation, Cultivar, and Plant Protection
by Marta K. Kostrzewska and Magdalena Jastrzębska
Agriculture 2024, 14(8), 1355; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14081355 - 13 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1405
Abstract
The need to better exploit crop yield potential through agronomic practices is driven by the necessity to feed a growing population in a changing climate. In this regard, cereals, including barley, represent strategic crops. Barley grain yield in Poland is comparable to the [...] Read more.
The need to better exploit crop yield potential through agronomic practices is driven by the necessity to feed a growing population in a changing climate. In this regard, cereals, including barley, represent strategic crops. Barley grain yield in Poland is comparable to the European average. Under good habitat and agronomic conditions, it can exceed the average. The effects of cropping system (continuous cropping, CC; crop rotation, CR), cultivar (Radek, Skald), plant protection level (control treatment, CT; herbicide, H; herbicide and fungicide, HF), and the interactions among these factors on spring barley yield were evaluated in northeast Poland in 2017–2022. Growing spring barley in the CR system promoted higher yields compared to the CC system due to increased spike density and 1000-grain weight (TGW). Skald, with a higher TGW, yielded more than Radek. H treatment increased barley yield by improving the spike density and TGW, while fungicide inclusion (HF) contributed to further yield increase by improving the TGW. The interaction of CR and HF practices contributed to the greatest realization of the yield potential of both cultivars. The study confirmed the strong contribution of inter-annual weather variability in modifying the effects of cropping system, cultivar, and plant protection strategy on barley yield. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effect of Cultivation Practices on Crop Yield and Quality)
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