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Agronomy
Special Issues
Fertilizer Innovation and Practice in Sustainable Intensified Agriculture
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Fertilizer Innovation and Practice in Sustainable Intensified Agriculture

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 September 2025 | Viewed by 276

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Witold Grzebisz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Environmental Biogeochemistry, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 60-625 Poznan, Poland
Interests: crop plants; soil fertility; plant nutrition; crop plants fertilization; diagnostics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Nevien Elhawat

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Plant Biology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, Böszörményi Str. 138, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Interests: crop plants; soil fertility; plant nutrition; crop plants fertilization; diagnostics; soil chemistry; biogeochemistry; soil analysis; environmental impact assessment; wastewater treatment; microbial ecology; bioremediation; environmental biotechnology; environmental science; fertilizers; sustainable agriculture; cropping systems; nutrient management; crop production; biofertilizers; green technology; phytoremediation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Effective and environmentally friendly fertilizer use is the basis of sustainable plant/food production. New conceptual and technological solutions should aim at increasing crop plant yield potential.

In the presence of water, nitrogen is the only critical plant growth factor; farmers should thus focused on the effective use of nitrogen present in the soil/cropping systems.

This Special Issue invites cutting-edge research submissions on innovative fertilization strategies to promote sustainable agriculture. Particular areas of interest for this Special Issue include improving soil fertility for optimal nitrogen uptake, identifying site-specific soil fertility thresholds, and employing diagnostic tools to monitor plant nutrition during critical yield formation stages. Contributions should explore the integration of secondary nutrients and microelements to enhance nitrogen efficiency and crop productivity while minimizing environmental impacts. We welcome studies that balance high agricultural yields with ecological sustainability, advancing our understanding of nutrient interactions and their role in soil–plant systems. Solutions addressing these challenges will contribute to long-term food security and the development of sustainable farming practices.

We invite researchers to share their knowledge and experience in solving problems of broadly understood nitrogen management, specific to given soil and climatic conditions.

Prof. Dr. Witold Grzebisz
Dr. Nevien Elhawat
Guest Editors

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

  • soil fertility level
  • nitrogen action
  • nitrogen supporter
  • secondary nutrients
  • microelements
  • crop
  • plants
  • cardinal stages
  • yield formation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

29 pages, 4070 KiB  
Article
Impact of Digestate-Derived Nitrogen on Nutrient Content Dynamics in Winter Oilseed Rape Before Flowering
by Remigiusz Łukowiak, Witold Szczepaniak and Dominik Młodecki
Agronomy 2025, 15(5), 1241; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15051241 - 20 May 2025
Abstract
The increase in biogas production has caused a simultaneous increase in the production of digestate, which is a valuable carrier of nutrients in crop plant production. Digestate-derived nitrogen ensures the optimal nutritional status of winter oilseed plants at critical stages of yield formation. [...] Read more.
The increase in biogas production has caused a simultaneous increase in the production of digestate, which is a valuable carrier of nutrients in crop plant production. Digestate-derived nitrogen ensures the optimal nutritional status of winter oilseed plants at critical stages of yield formation. This hypothesis was verified in field experiments with winter oilseed rape (WOSR) conducted in the 2015/2016, 2016/2017, and 2017/2018 growing seasons. The experiment consisted of three nitrogen fertilization systems (FSs)—mineral ammonium nitrate (AN) (AN-FS), digestate-based (D-FS), and 2/3 digestate + 1/3 AN (DAN-FS)—and five Nf doses: 0, 80, 120, 160, and 240 kg N ha−1. Plants fertilized with digestate had higher yields than those fertilized with AN. The highest seed yield (SY) was recorded in the DAN-FS, which was 0.56 t ha−1 higher than that in the M-FS. The nitrogen fertilizer replacement value (NFRV), averaged over N doses, was 104% for the D-FS and reached 111% for the mixed DAN-FS system. The N content in WOSR leaves, which was within the range of 41–48 g kg−1 DM at the rosette stage and within 34–44 g kg−1 DM at the beginning of flowering, ensured optimal plant growth and seed yield. In WOSR plants fertilized with digestate, the nitrogen (N) content was significantly lower compared to that in plants fertilized with AN, but this difference did not have a negative impact on the seed yield (SY). The observed positive effect of the digestate on plant growth in the pre-flowering period of WOSR growth and on SY resulted from the impact of Mg, which effectively controlled Ca, especially in the third growing season (which was dry). Mg had a significant effect on the biomass of rosettes and on SY, but only when its content in leaves exceeded 2.0 g kg−1 DM. It is necessary to emphasize the specific role of the digestate, which significantly reduced the Ca content in the indicator WOSR organs. Increased Ca content during the vegetative period of WOSR growth reduced leaf N and Zn contents, which ultimately led to a decrease in SY. Therefore, the rosette phase of WOSR growth should be considered a reliable diagnostic phase for both the correction of plants’ nutritional status and the prediction of SY. It can be concluded that the fertilization value of digestate-derived N was the same as that of ammonium nitrate. This means that the mineral fertilizer can be replaced by digestate in WOSR production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fertilizer Innovation and Practice in Sustainable Intensified Agriculture)
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