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Agronomy
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Sustainable Management and Tillage Practice in Agriculture—2nd Edition
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Sustainable Management and Tillage Practice in Agriculture—2nd Edition

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 October 2025 | Viewed by 2027

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xing Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Interests: conservation agriculture; crop rotation; nutrient transformation; agro-ecosystem
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jian-Ying Qi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Interests: conservation agriculture; agro-ecosystem; soil carbon sequestration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zheng-Rong Kan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agriculture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Interests: resource use efficiency; soil quality; agricultural sustainability assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jiaqi Hao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling, Xianyang 712100, China
Interests: farmland soil ecology; microbial-driven mechanisms of soil nutrient transformation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Following the success of the first Special Issue, titled “Sustainable Management and Tillage Practice in Agriculture (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy/special_issues/HK7A1IO564)”, in Agronomy, the Editorial Office is pleased to launch a second series of the issue.

Sustainable agriculture management aims to maximize crop yields and profitability while minimizing negative impacts on the environment and preserving the health and fertility of the soil. In the modern era, concerns about environmental degradation, climate change, and food security have led to a renewed focus on sustainable management and tillage practices in agriculture.

This Special Issue will focus on research and advancements in practices and technologies that promote sustainable agriculture and improve soil health through effective agriculture management. Some examples of cutting-edge research on this topic include precision agriculture, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, and so on.

We encourage prospective authors to submit related distinguished research or review manuscripts focused on (but not limited to) the following topics:

  • Soil health and crop productivity.
  • Reduction in soil erosion and compaction.
  • Agro-ecosystem sustainability strategies.
  • The Optimization and sustainability assessment of regional agricultural production patterns.
  • The role of precision agriculture and other technologies in optimizing tillage practices.
  • Case studies of successful sustainable tillage management in different agricultural systems.
  • The economic and environmental benefits of sustainable agriculture management.
  • The management and efficient utilization of soil nutrients in farmland.
  • Carbon sequestration and emission reduction.

Dr. Xing Wang
Dr. Jian-Ying Qi
Dr. Zheng-Rong Kan
Guest Editors

Dr. Jiaqi Hao
Guest Editor Assistant

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. Agronomy 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

  • agricultural sustainability assessment
  • nutrient management
  • cropping system
  • soil carbon sequestration
  • greenhouse gas emissions
  • crop productivity
  • resource use efficiency
  • soil quality

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3533 KiB  
Article
Effects of Organic Fertilizer Substitution for Chemical Fertilizer on Grain Yield and 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) of Fragrant Rice
by Yihang Jiang, Jiayi Dai, Xiaojuan Pu, Yanyue Liang, Deqian Chen and Shenggang Pan
Agronomy 2025, 15(6), 1324; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15061324 - 28 May 2025
Viewed by 207
Abstract
Organic fertilizer replacing a portion of chemical fertilizers is a key strategy for improving grain qualities and economic benefits. Fragrant rice, favored by consumers for its superior quality and rich aroma, has garnered significant attention. However, there is little information on the effect [...] Read more.
Organic fertilizer replacing a portion of chemical fertilizers is a key strategy for improving grain qualities and economic benefits. Fragrant rice, favored by consumers for its superior quality and rich aroma, has garnered significant attention. However, there is little information on the effect of organic fertilizer replacing a portion of chemical fertilizers on the grain yield and 2-AP of fragrant rice. Taking Meixiangzhan2 and Qingxiangyou19 as experimental materials, five different experimental treatments were designed: all urea (T1), 33.3% organic fertilizer substitution for urea (T2), 66.7% organic fertilizer substitution for urea (T3), all organic fertilizer (T4), and no fertilizer as a control (CK). The results showed that the T2 treatment could significantly increase the grain yield of Meixiangzhan2 to 62.50 g·pot−1 and Qingxiangyou19 to 67.88 g·pot−1 due to the increase of 27.90% and 26.03% over T1, and 72.18% and 59.45% over CK, respectively. Compared with T1, the T2 treatment could markedly enhance the 2-AP content in Meixiangzhan2 (418.01 μg kg−1, up by 7.70%) and Qingxiangyou19 (378.53 μg kg−1, up by 9.12%). Relative to CK, the aroma content of these two varieties under the T2 treatment rose by 22.05% and 31.04%, respectively. The main reasons were due to the increase in pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid, 1-pyrroline, proline dehydrogenase, and pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase. The dry matter accumulation, leaf area, and photosynthetic rate of Meixiangzhan2 and Qingxiangyou19 were also significantly increased, and the activities of nitrate reductase and glutamine synthetase were also significantly improved. Moreover, the activities of peroxidase and catalase in rice sword leaves were remarkably improved, and the content of malondialdehyde was significantly decreased. The results showed that 33.3% of organic fertilizer instead of chemical fertilizer had the positive effect of increasing the grain yield and improving the aroma of rice, which was worth further popularization and application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management and Tillage Practice in Agriculture—2nd Edition)
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18 pages, 6751 KiB  
Article
Effects of Deep Application of Fertilizer on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Functions in Rice Paddies
by Qi-Huan Xie, Xiang-Bin Yao, Ya Yang, De-Jin Li and Jian-Ying Qi
Agronomy 2025, 15(4), 938; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15040938 - 11 Apr 2025
Viewed by 406
Abstract
Efficient fertilization is vital for rice production and sustainable agriculture. Conventional fertilization (CK) suffers from low efficiency and environmental pollution, whereas side-deep fertilization (SF) offers an efficient, eco-friendly alternative. The changes in microbial carbon cycling functional genes induced by SF in paddy soils [...] Read more.
Efficient fertilization is vital for rice production and sustainable agriculture. Conventional fertilization (CK) suffers from low efficiency and environmental pollution, whereas side-deep fertilization (SF) offers an efficient, eco-friendly alternative. The changes in microbial carbon cycling functional genes induced by SF in paddy soils remain unclear. This study investigates the effects of SF and CK on soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), microbial communities, and carbon- and nitrogen-cycling genes in double-cropping rice paddies through field experiments. Results reveal that SF significantly increases TN in deeper soil layers (10–20 cm), enhancing the expression of nitrogen fixation genes (e.g., K02591 and K02588) and nitrogen metabolism pathways, alongside boosting Chloroflexi and Planctomycetes abundance. In contrast, CK promotes SOC accumulation and upregulates carbon metabolism genes (e.g., K01179 and K01728) in surface layers (0–10 cm). In deeper layers, SF elevates nitrogen reduction gene abundance (e.g., K02591) while suppressing denitrification and assimilatory nitrate reduction, whereas CK enhances dissimilatory nitrate reduction (e.g., K02568). Redundancy analysis (RDA) shows that soil properties (pH, SOC, and TN) drive microbial community structure, with Actinobacteria positively linked to SOC and TN. These findings demonstrate that SF optimizes nitrogen cycling in deeper soil by improving nitrogen use efficiency and functional microbial growth, while CK favors shallow-layer carbon sequestration. This study provides a scientific foundation for tailoring fertilization strategies to soil depth, leveraging carbon- and nitrogen-cycling gene dynamics to enhance soil fertility and sustainability in rice production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management and Tillage Practice in Agriculture—2nd Edition)
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19 pages, 4733 KiB  
Article
Wheat Yield, Biomass, and Radiation Interception and Utilization Under Conservation Tillage: Greater Response to Drip Fertigation Compared to Intensive Tillage
by Yuechao Wang, Jinxiao Song, Wen Li, Tingting Yan, Depeng Wang, Jianfu Xue and Zhiqiang Gao
Agronomy 2024, 14(12), 2849; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14122849 - 28 Nov 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 915
Abstract
Conservation tillage, particularly no tillage (NT), has been recognized as an efficient farming practice, particularly in dryland agriculture, as it significantly enhances crop yields, improves soil health, and contributes to environmental sustainability. However, the influence of NT on winter wheat radiation interception and [...] Read more.
Conservation tillage, particularly no tillage (NT), has been recognized as an efficient farming practice, particularly in dryland agriculture, as it significantly enhances crop yields, improves soil health, and contributes to environmental sustainability. However, the influence of NT on winter wheat radiation interception and utilization, biomass, and yield under NT in irrigated fields, especially under drip fertigation, is unclear. A field experiment was carried out for two growing seasons in Shandong province, China, using a split-plot design with the tillage method as the main plot (no tillage, NT; rotary tillage, RT; and first plowing the soil and then conducting rotary tillage, PRT), and water–nitrogen management as the sub-plot (N fertilizer broadcasting and flood irrigation, BF and drip fertigation, DF). Our results showed that DF increased yield by 11.0–28.5%, but the yield response to DF depended on the tillage methods. NT had the highest response in yield of 26.3–28.5%, followed by RT of 14.6–15.1% and PRT of 11.0–11.9%. Both increased grains per ear and ear number, a result of the greater maximum stems number donating to the yield gain by DF under NT. This gain was also due to the substantially promoted post-anthesis biomass (36.7–47.3%), which resulted from the increased interception of solar radiation and radiation use efficiency after anthesis. In addition, the extended post-anthesis duration also benefited biomass and yield. To conclude, our findings underscore the critical need to optimize water and nitrogen management strategies to maximize yield under conservation tillage systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management and Tillage Practice in Agriculture—2nd Edition)
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