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Agronomy
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Sustainable Soil Fertility Management Through Organic Fertilizers, Green Manures, and...
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Sustainable Soil Fertility Management Through Organic Fertilizers, Green Manures, and Recycled Resources

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Plant Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 July 2026) | Viewed by 933

Editor

Prof. Dr. Hideto Ueno

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agro-Biological Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Ehime University, 3-5-7 Tarumi, Matsuyama 790-8566, Japan
Interests: nitrogen dynamics; sustainable agriculture; green manure integration; organic farming systems; nutrient cycling; waste management; soil fertility; environmental impacts; agricultural sustainability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable agriculture has evolved from growing concerns about synthetic fertilizer dependence and environmental degradation. Legume-based green manure practices, deeply rooted in traditional farming systems, have experienced renewed scientific interest as researchers investigate nitrogen dynamics, organic farming methodologies, and integrated waste management solutions.

This special issue comprehensively examines the multifaceted role of legume green manure in sustainable agriculture, with particular emphasis on the dynamics of nitrogen, phophorus, pottasium and other nutrients, organic farming systems, innovative waste management strategies, soil health enhancement, and environmentally responsible practices that promote long-term agricultural productivity and ecosystem resilience.

Contemporary research explores molecular mechanisms of nitrogen fixation, green manure decomposition kinetics, precision organic farming technologies, circular economy waste management systems, climate-smart legume integration strategies, microbial community interactions, and optimized nitrogen dynamics that support sustainable agriculture under diverse environmental conditions and climate change scenarios.

We welcome rigorous original research articles, comprehensive reviews, meta-analyses, and innovative case studies that examine legume green manure applications, nitrogen cycling processes, organic farming innovations, waste management integration strategies, and sustainable agriculture practices advancing both fundamental scientific understanding and practical field implementation.

Prof. Dr. Hideto Ueno
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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 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

  • green manure
  • organic farming
  • soil health
  • sustainable agriculture
  • waste utilization

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3758 KB  
Article
Trade-Offs of Soil Quality, Wheat Yield and Nutrient Efficiency Under Long-Term Combined Chemical and Manure Fertilization in Vertisols
by Jiacheng Gu, Yuekai Wang, Xun Xiao, Yue Zhang, Zhenkang Zhou, Xinyu Zhao, Daozhong Wang and Fengmin Li
Agronomy 2026, 16(16), 1588; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16161588 - 18 Aug 2026
Abstract
Organic fertilization is a key strategy for improving soil structure and fertility in China’s Vertisols, yet the trade-offs among soil quality enhancement, grain yield performance, and nutrient use efficiency under different organic amendment regimes remain insufficiently elucidated. Based on a unique 43-year field [...] Read more.
Organic fertilization is a key strategy for improving soil structure and fertility in China’s Vertisols, yet the trade-offs among soil quality enhancement, grain yield performance, and nutrient use efficiency under different organic amendment regimes remain insufficiently elucidated. Based on a unique 43-year field fertilization experiment, this study systematically evaluated the effects of long-term chemical fertilization (NPK) alone, low-dose (NPKLS) and high-dose straw incorporation (NPKHS), combined chemical fertilizer with cattle manure (NPKCM), and pig manure (NPKPM) fertilization on soil physical, chemical properties, crop yields and plant nutrient utilization efficiency. The results showed that NPKCM and NPKPM significantly improved soil physical properties by reducing soil bulk density, improving soil pore structure, and enhancing soil water retention capacity and saturated hydraulic conductivity. Although long-term manure application led to slight soil salt accumulation, the rate of accumulation remained substantially lower than that associated with commercial organic fertilizers and did not approach the crop salinity damage threshold, suggesting low ecological risk. Compared with NPK treatment, manure amendment effectively counteracted soil acidification induced by prolonged chemical fertilization, while also significantly increasing soil total phosphorus and available phosphorus content, and elevated the proportion of active phosphorus (PAC). The improved soil phosphorus activation capacity and comprehensive soil quality further contributed to substantial increases in wheat grain yield under NPKCM and NPKPM treatments. Despite these agronomic benefits, the additional nitrogen and phosphorus inputs from manure resulted in soil nutrient surpluses, which considerably reduced nitrogen and phosphorus partial factor productivity as well as agronomic efficiency. In contrast, straw incorporation treatments (NPKLS, NPKHS) sustained stable crop yield without notable declines in nutrient efficiency, positioning them as a greener and more sustainable approach to balancing grain production with resource use efficiency. These findings highlight the need to integrate nutrient credits from manure into fertilization program. Given the 43-year evidence, fertilization strategy should consider not only the nutrients supplied by manure but also the quantities exported through harvested products, with adjustments based on annual soil fertility analyses. Such nutrient budgeting is essential to maximize fertilizer use efficiency, prevent excessive phosphorus accumulation, and maintain balanced soil fertility over time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Soil Fertility Management Through Organic Fertilizers, Green Manures, and Recycled Resources)
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16 pages, 8647 KB  
Article
Soybean Intercropping Improves Bacterial Community and Nutrient Status in Soil of Citrus Orchards
by Sheng Cao, Mengyun Ouyang, Shuizhi Yang, Can Yang, Mingming Zhao, Jianli Mou and Bin Zeng
Agronomy 2026, 16(11), 1024; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16111024 - 22 May 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 422
Abstract
Soil microbes play pivotal roles in nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning across diverse farmland systems. Orchard grass coverage has been demonstrated to effectively alter microbial community structure and promote nutrient cycling. However, the effects of soybean intercropping on soil bacterial community characteristics and [...] Read more.
Soil microbes play pivotal roles in nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning across diverse farmland systems. Orchard grass coverage has been demonstrated to effectively alter microbial community structure and promote nutrient cycling. However, the effects of soybean intercropping on soil bacterial community characteristics and nutrient contents in citrus orchards remain poorly understood. In this study, a field experiment was conducted in a citrus orchard involving three planting patterns: clean tillage (CT), natural grass (NG), and soybean intercropping (SI). The physicochemical properties and bacterial community structure of the topsoil (0–40 cm depth) were determined. Results showed that compared with CT, NG and SI significantly increased cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil organic matter (SOM), alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (AN), and available potassium (AK). SI further elevated soil pH and available phosphorus (AP) relative to CT and NG. Bacterial diversity ranked SI > NG > CT, with PCoA showing lower community variation under SI. A total of 31 bacterial phyla were detected in the citrus orchard soil, with Cyanobacteria (17.20~40.81%), Proteobacteria (15.04~24.19%), Acidobacteriota (8.95~14.66%), and Chloroflexi (3.93~21.13%) identified as the dominant phyla. SI enriched Cyanobacteria and Proteobacteria but reduced Acidobacteriota, Chloroflexi, and Actinobacteriota. Mantel tests confirmed CEC and SOM as key drivers of bacterial community structure. Overall, soybean intercropping improves soil microecology and exhibits great potential for soil quality improvement in citrus orchards under local conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Soil Fertility Management Through Organic Fertilizers, Green Manures, and Recycled Resources)
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