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Agriculture
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Agricultural Innovations for Sustainable Cereal Production under a Changing Climate
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Agricultural Innovations for Sustainable Cereal Production under a Changing Climate

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2023) | Viewed by 4278

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Petros Vahamidis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hellenic Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Directorate of Plant Production Protection, 150 Syngrou Avenue, 176 71 Kallithea, Greece
Interests: wheat; barley; crop production; crop physiology; sustainable agriculture; abiotic and biotic stresses; crop nutrition; plant ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cereals are the most widely grown arable crops and play a crucial role as a renewable resource for both human food and animal feed. However, their sustainable production has been challenged globally by climate change. It is anticipated that climate change will increase the frequency of cereal crop exposure to multiple abiotic and biotic stresses (e.g. heat, drought, salinity, flood, cold, pests, weeds, etc.). The first aim of this Special Issue is to further explore the complex genotype—environment—management interaction effects on yield and quality of cereal crops, which will assist in establishing potential solutions for an optimal management of cereal production under a changing climate. A recent focus on climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has provided further insights into methods to enhance food security, build climate resilience capacity (adaptation strategies) and reduce GHG emissions (mitigation strategies). It is also important to note that, within the framework of sustainable cereal production, GHG emissions mitigation and climate change adaptation must occur without compromising food security, grain quality and farm economic viability. Therefore, the second aim of this Special Issue is to expand our understanding and identify research gaps regarding the capacity of both new and old agricultural technologies and practices at the field level which will provide adaptation or mitigation benefits in a sustainable manner. All types of articles are welcome, including original research, opinions, and reviews.

Dr. Petros Vahamidis
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 monthly 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

  • grain yield and quality
  • adaptation and mitigation strategies
  • carbon footprint
  • water footprint
  • nitrogen use efficiency
  • climate-smart agriculture
  • precision agriculture
  • management practices
  • novel materials
  • crop modeling

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 2814 KiB  
Article
Optimizing Sustainability in Malting Barley: A Practical Approach to Nitrogen Management for Enhanced Environmental, Agronomic, and Economic Benefits
by Petros Vahamidis, Angeliki Stefopoulou and Vassilis Kotoulas
Agriculture 2023, 13(12), 2272; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13122272 - 14 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1427
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) fertilisers used in barley production serve as the primary contributors to total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Consequently, to lower the carbon footprint (CF) and GHG emissions, it is imperative to either reduce N fertiliser rates or enhance grain yield and improve [...] Read more.
Nitrogen (N) fertilisers used in barley production serve as the primary contributors to total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Consequently, to lower the carbon footprint (CF) and GHG emissions, it is imperative to either reduce N fertiliser rates or enhance grain yield and improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). To address this challenge, we combined two strategies related to N: (1) a 34% reduction in the total N rate compared to the control (total N rate 108–110 kg N ha−1), and (2) testing two types of N fertilisers for topdressing against the control (common sulfur urea). These types included (a) a mixture comprising controlled-release fertiliser (CRF) combined with ammonium sulfate nitrate fertiliser in a 40:60 ratio (CRF + Nitro) and (b) ammonium sulfate nitrate (Nitro). Experiments were conducted in two distinct areas of Greece specialising in cereal production, aiming to unveil the effects of these strategies on all sustainability aspects of malting barley production. The results showed that although a 34% reduction in N rate did not result in yield penalties or a decrease in grain size, it did have a negative impact on grain protein content (GPC). CRF + Nitro not only reduced CF by approximately 30% compared to the control but also increased N agronomic efficiency by 51.5% and net profit by 7.1%. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the maximum achievable reduction in total GHG emissions and CF, by excluding N fertilisation from the crop system, ranged from 68.5% to 74.3% for GHG emissions and 53.8% to 67.1% for CF. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Innovations for Sustainable Cereal Production under a Changing Climate)
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21 pages, 3164 KiB  
Article
Effect of Different ET-Based Irrigation Scheduling on Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Drip Irrigated Maize
by Dejan Simić, Borivoj Pejić, Goran Bekavac, Ksenija Mačkić, Bojan Vojnov, Ivana Bajić and Vladimir Sikora
Agriculture 2023, 13(10), 1994; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13101994 - 13 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1068
Abstract
The development of irrigation schedules based on water balance implies a study of daily plant water requirements. A properly selected irrigation method is also of most importance. The objective of this study was to find out how surface drip irrigation (SDI) and shallow [...] Read more.
The development of irrigation schedules based on water balance implies a study of daily plant water requirements. A properly selected irrigation method is also of most importance. The objective of this study was to find out how surface drip irrigation (SDI) and shallow subsurface drip irrigation (SSDI), as well as different ET-based irrigation scheduling for maize (reference evapotranspiration (ETo), pan evaporation (Eo), and local climatic coefficients (lc)), affect grain yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and yield response factor (Ky) of maize. The field experiments were conducted in Vojvodina, a northern part of the Republic of Serbia, on the calcareous gleyic chernozem soil, using a complete block design in three replicates in 2019–2021. The water balance method was used for irrigation scheduling. The nonirrigated treatment was used as a control. The yield in irrigation conditions was statistically higher as compared with the nonirrigated control variant. Concerning the tested parameters, especially the maize yield, reference evapotranspiration (ETo) should be recommended as the most acceptable method for assessing maize evapotranspiration. Preference should be given to SSDI compared to SDI because the installation of laterals can be performed together with the sowing, which can ensure the uniform and timely emergence of plants. Based on the Ky coefficient of 0.71, it can be concluded that maize is moderately tolerant to water stress in Vojvodina’s temperate climate. The results can contribute to precise planning and efficient irrigation of maize in the region, implying high and stable yields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Innovations for Sustainable Cereal Production under a Changing Climate)
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13 pages, 2386 KiB  
Article
Zinc Absorption through Leaves and Subsequent Translocation to the Grains of Bread Wheat after Foliar Spray
by Atif Kamran, Munazza Ghazanfar, Jan Sher Khan, Sana Pervaiz, Manzer H. Siddiqui and Saud Alamri
Agriculture 2023, 13(9), 1775; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13091775 - 7 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1100
Abstract
Agronomic biofortification could possibly be a promising strategy to overcome zinc (Zn) deficiency in wheat; however, the cultivar’s response to foliar applications is enigmatic when it comes to the relative efficiency of Zn absorption and accumulation. To decipher that enigmatic response, this study [...] Read more.
Agronomic biofortification could possibly be a promising strategy to overcome zinc (Zn) deficiency in wheat; however, the cultivar’s response to foliar applications is enigmatic when it comes to the relative efficiency of Zn absorption and accumulation. To decipher that enigmatic response, this study was designed with the objectives (i) to track the amount of Zn absorbed through leaves after foliar application, (ii) to calculate the amount of the absorbed Zn actually translocated and stored in the grains, and (iii) to calculate the relative efficiency of the high yielding cultivars in terms of their Zn absorption and translocation. The results reveal that 0.90% of the zinc sprayed was absorbed through leaves, and 43% of the absorbed Zn was translocated to the grains. The cultivars significantly varied for their Zn absorption (0.71–1.07%) and subsequent translocation of the absorbed Zn (23–66%). Foliar zinc treatment also improved growth attributes such as leaf area, height, spikelet per spike, number of grains per spike, grain yield, leaf and grain Zn content, and grain protein content. These findings suggest a need for cautious parent selection in devising the breeding strategies intended for biofortification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Innovations for Sustainable Cereal Production under a Changing Climate)
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