Agricultural Innovation and Sustainable Development in Tropical Cropping Systems

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 637

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Postgraduate Program in Soil Science, Department of Soil and Rural Engineering, Center of Agrarian Sciences, Federal University of Paraiba, Areia 58397-000, PB, Brazil
Interests: tropical soil; pedology; sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Postgraduate Program in Soil Science, Department of Soil and Rural Engineering, Center of Agrarian Sciences, Federal University of Paraiba, Areia 58397-000, PB, Brazil
Interests: tropical soil; soil physics; soil management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Historically, agricultural production systems in tropical ecosystems have played a rather predatory role in land use and crop management (agricultural and forage). Thus, it was possible to observe how deforestation practices, conventional agriculture and intensive pasture led to losses of soil, water and nutrients, thus implying a change in the production model towards conservationist use systems. However, in the last 50 years, there has been a revolution in production systems. Thus, the objective of this Special Issue is to focus on scientific productions (manuscripts) that address the theme: Agricultural Innovation and Sustainable Development in Tropical Cropping Systems. These changes have occurred in the various stages of the production process, whether in soil use and management, in the genetic improvement of plantain cultivars in the most diverse environmental conditions or in the control of pests and diseases, which has resulted in the advancement of production and productivity. We are therefore accepting Scientific Research and Review Manuscripts that address the theme of Agricultural Innovation and Sustainable Development in Tropical Cropping Systems.

Prof. Dr. Milton César Costa Campos
Dr. Flavio Pereira de Oliveira
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

  • tropical cropping systems
  • use and management of tropical soil
  • agricultural production in the tropics
  • innovations in tropical systems

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

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

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 2219 KiB  
Article
Treated Wastewater Affects the Fertility and Geochemistry of Degraded Soil in the Brazilian Semi-Arid Region
by Victor Junior Lima Felix, Salomão de Sousa Medeiros, Rodrigo Santana Macedo, Cristiano dos Santos Sousa, Renato Francisco da Silva Souza, Vânia da Silva Fraga, Alexandre Pereira Bakker, Robson Vinício dos Santos, Bruno de Oliveira Dias and Milton César Costa Campos
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 721; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030721 - 17 Mar 2025
Viewed by 389
Abstract
Projections for the Brazilian semi-arid (BSA) region estimate a reduction in water bodies and an increase in degraded areas. Recovering degraded soils using treated wastewater (TWW) is a strategy to increase the resilience of the local population to these climatic adversities. This study [...] Read more.
Projections for the Brazilian semi-arid (BSA) region estimate a reduction in water bodies and an increase in degraded areas. Recovering degraded soils using treated wastewater (TWW) is a strategy to increase the resilience of the local population to these climatic adversities. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of deficit irrigation with treated effluent on the (geo)chemistry of degraded soil in the BSA. An experiment with the application of TWW was conducted on soil degraded within an agroforestry system. The treatments arranged in randomized block design were WS0.5 (water supply at 0.5 L/plant/week), TE0.5 (treated effluent at 0.5 L/plant/week), and TE1 (treated effluent at 1 L/plant/week). Soil samples were collected (0–15 and 15–30 cm) at the initial condition, after two years of irrigation, and two years after the end of irrigation. Analyses of chemicals and geochemicals were carried out. All treatments increased soil fertility after two years in both layers, with TE1 resulting in higher Ca2+ (0–15 cm: 2.88; 15–30; 3.14; cmolc kg−1), Mg2+ (0–15 cm: 2.13; 15–30; 2.00; cmolc kg−1), and K+ (0–15 cm: 0.11; 15–30; 0.12; cmolc kg−1), generating a residual effect two years post-irrigation suspension and no risk of salinization. However, TE1 and mainly TE0.5 showed an increase in sodium content, making the soil solodic (6–11%). The application of TWW changed the CaO, MgO, and K2O contents of silt fraction, contributing to the availability of Ca, Mg, and K in soils. Future studies should monitor sodium levels and confirm K-bearing phyllosilicate (illitization) after irrigation with TWW. The application of TWW for a short period (two years) and in small volumes (0.5 L/plant/week) affects (geo)chemistry of degraded soil from the BSA. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop