Crop Productivity and Management in Agricultural Systems

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Innovative Cropping Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 452

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy
Interests: response of agronomic crops to various environmental and nutritional stresses; effects of nitrogen, water, and weed stress on crop biomass, yield, and yield components; cereal crops (wheat, barley, and spelt); vegetable crops (tomatoes, onions, beans, melons, and watermelons); protein crops (beans, peas, chickpeas, and grass peas); tubers (potatoes); innovative field-scale techniques for the early detection of stress utilizing spectral reflectance and vegetation indices
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Increasing agricultural productivity by optimising resource use to achieve higher yields while promoting the sustainability of farming systems is a global strategic objective. Enhancing agronomic practices, such as crop, soil, nutrient, and water-efficient management, and improving effectiveness through integrated plant nutrient management (IPNM), integrated pest management (IPM), and integrated weed management (IWM), to uphold high biodiversity and ecosystem health still requires considerable effort. Agricultural production systems continue to lack integration, optimisation, diversification, and innovation.

This Special Issue seeks to gather research that identifies effective production management practices. We invite all submissions addressing issues related to productivity improvement and crop management in agricultural systems.

Dr. Stefano Marino
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • crop yield
  • integrated management strategies
  • soil
  • water
  • nutrients
  • weeds
  • pest management
  • biodiversity
  • innovative technologies

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 4445 KB  
Article
Sink Strength Governs Yield Ceiling in High-Yield Cotton: Compensation Effects of Source–Sink Damage and Reproductive Stage Regulation
by Zhenwang Zhang, Kexin Li, Qinghua Liao, Zhijie Shi, Keke Yu, Junqi Zhu, Xiyu Jia, Guodong Chen, Sumei Wan, Shanwei Lou, Mingfeng Yang, Fangjun Li, Xiaoli Tian, Zhaohu Li and Mingwei Du
Agronomy 2025, 15(9), 2099; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15092099 - 30 Aug 2025
Viewed by 267
Abstract
Under refined management, high-yield cotton fields are approaching their maximum output. However, how to break this yield upper limit, specifically the source–sink relationship is still inadequately researched. This experiment was conducted to explore the interaction mechanism between yield formation and source–sink parameters (photosynthesis, [...] Read more.
Under refined management, high-yield cotton fields are approaching their maximum output. However, how to break this yield upper limit, specifically the source–sink relationship is still inadequately researched. This experiment was conducted to explore the interaction mechanism between yield formation and source–sink parameters (photosynthesis, nitrogen content, canopy structure and dry matter accumulation and distribution). The treatments consisted of a no cutting source and sink treatment (CK), cutting 1/2 leaves per plant (1/2L) and cutting 1/2 bolls per plant (1/2B) at the initial flowering stage (IFS), the flower and boll stage (FABS), and the full boll stage (FBS). The results showed that 1/2L treatment minimized yield losses to 2.3–5.9% by enhancing photosynthetic compensation, with FBS-1/2L showing the smallest reduction (2.3–2.9%) due to higher leaf N content and SPAD values, whereas, the 1/2B treatments resulted in significant yield losses attributable to fewer bolls, especially the FBS-1/2B treatments, which reduced yields by 35.7–41.9%, with a compensatory rate of only 8.1–14.3%. It is noteworthy that the compensation rates of IFS-1/2B and FABS-1/2B could reach 26.7–32.3% and 18.7–23.8% of their yields due to the higher leaf N content. In a word, the source damage can be buffered by physiological compensation, while the sink loss leads to yield collapse due to the irreversibility of reproductive development. Thus, the core regulator of high-yield cotton fields was sink strength. Accordingly, optimizing the sink quality was performed through moderate boll thinning at the IFS, enhancing water and fertilizer supply at the FABS and strengthening sink organ protection at the FBS in order to realize a breakthrough in yield limit. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Productivity and Management in Agricultural Systems)
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