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Agronomy
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Effects of Soil Tillage and Fertilizer Management on Production of...
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Effects of Soil Tillage and Fertilizer Management on Production of Cereal Crops: 2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 5238

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Juan Han

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Taicheng 3, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: soil tillage; fertilizer management; crop production; meta-analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the production of cereal crops, intensive tillage increases the mineralization of organic carbon in the soil, leading to a decrease in soil quality. In addition, the application of high levels of chemical fertilizers to enhance yield results in a large amount of nutrient loss, due to volatilization, immobilization, denitrification, and leaching, and increases greenhouse gas emissions from farmland, posing a grave threat to both the ecological environment and sustainable production on farmland. Therefore, to ensure high-quality farmland and promote sustainable cereal crop production, it is crucial to adopt reasonable tillage techniques and fertilization models to minimize nutrient loss.

This Special Issue aims to exchange all the progress and perspectives on the research of soil tillage and fertilizer management on cereal crop production globally. The issue will contain the latest research findings on all relevant topics, including but not limited to the following: conservation agriculture, soil tillage, fertilization mode, crop yield, agricultural product quality, resource utilization efficiency, soil fertility and health, soil nutrient supply and circulation, sustainability of soil fertilization, greenhouse gas emissions, ecological and economic benefits, and life-cycle assessment. On-site experiments and meta-analyses are appreciated. Original research papers, communications, and review articles are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Juan Han
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 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

  • conservation agriculture
  • soil tillage
  • fertilization mode
  • crop yield
  • agricultural product quality
  • resource utilization efficiency
  • soil fertility and health
  • soil nutrient supply and circulation
  • sustainability of soil fertilization
  • greenhouse gas emissions

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 8468 KiB  
Article
Emergence of Soybean and Canola Plants as Affected by Soil Compaction from a Seeder Press Roller
by Hao Gong, Zhenyu Tang, Yinghu Cai, Yunhe Zhang, Shihao Yang, Ying Chen and Long Qi
Agronomy 2025, 15(5), 1076; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15051076 - 28 Apr 2025
Viewed by 22
Abstract
Changes in soil properties under mechanical stress significantly influence the emergence and growth of crops, with different crops responding differently to these changes. To explore the impact of different soil compaction states on crop growth, field experiments were conducted in 2022 and 2023 [...] Read more.
Changes in soil properties under mechanical stress significantly influence the emergence and growth of crops, with different crops responding differently to these changes. To explore the impact of different soil compaction states on crop growth, field experiments were conducted in 2022 and 2023 in sandy loam soil in Manitoba, Canada. The crops (canola and soybean) were planted under three compaction levels created by a seeder’s press roller: no press roller (P0), one pass of the press roller (P1), and two passes of the press roller (P2). Soil mechanical properties and plant growth were measured for each treatment. The results indicated that soil shear strength increased significantly with each level of compaction from P0 to P1 and from P1 to P2, while soil surface resistance remained largely unaffected. Interestingly, soybean and canola responded differently to soil compaction. Soybeans showed no significant changes in emergence speed or final plant population across the three treatments. Conversely, canola exhibited over a 50% increase in emergence speed and more than a 100% increase in final plant population with either one (P1) or two passes (P2) of the press roller, compared to the no press roller (P0) treatment. These findings provide valuable guidance for agricultural producers and engineers in adjusting the down pressure of seeder press wheels when planting different crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Soil Tillage and Fertilizer Management on Production of Cereal Crops: 2nd Edition)
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20 pages, 4405 KiB  
Article
Wheat Nitrogen Use and Grain Protein Characteristics Under No-Tillage: A Greater Response to Drip Fertigation Compared to Intensive Tillage
by Yuyan Fan, Wen Li, Limin Zhang, Jinxiao Song, Depeng Wang, Jianfu Xue, Yuechao Wang and Zhiqiang Gao
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 588; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030588 - 27 Feb 2025
Viewed by 348
Abstract
No-tillage (NT) has been widely recognized for significantly enhancing crop yield and nitrogen (N) use efficiency in dryland agricultural systems globally. However, in irrigated fields, NT has demonstrated adverse effects on wheat yield, and limited information is available regarding its impact on N [...] Read more.
No-tillage (NT) has been widely recognized for significantly enhancing crop yield and nitrogen (N) use efficiency in dryland agricultural systems globally. However, in irrigated fields, NT has demonstrated adverse effects on wheat yield, and limited information is available regarding its impact on N uptake and use efficiencies, and grain protein characteristics. Previous studies concluded that drip fertigation (DF) achieved superior yield gain over the conventional N fertilizer broadcasting with flood irrigation (BF) under NT compared to rotary tillage (RT) and intensive tillage (PRT; first plowing followed by rotary tillage). This study measured tissue N concentration, grain protein content and composition, dough processing quality traits, and the activities of N metabolism enzymes in flag leaves and developing grains. The objectives were to (1) evaluate the response of N use traits and grain quality to DF, and (2) elucidate the relationship between gains in yield and N uptake across varying tillage methods. Results revealed that DF significantly increased N uptake by 35.4–38.0%, 22.1–22.2%, and 16.0–16.6% over BF under NT, RT, and PRT, respectively. This boosted N uptake predominantly contributed to enhanced N use efficiency (grain production per unit of total soil mineral and fertilizer N input). Regression analysis indicated that increased N pre-anthesis uptake was the primary driver of yield improvement by DF (r2 > 0.99, P < 0.01). Furthermore, NT demonstrated superior improvements by DF in N nutrition index, grain protein content, gliadin content, wet gluten content, and water absorption rate compared to RT and PRT. In conclusion, wheat N use and grain protein under NT responded greater to DF than intensive tillage. Therefore, our findings emphasize that transitioning from conventional water and N management to DF is an effective and practical strategy for enhancing N uptake, achieving high yield, improving N use efficiency, and enriching grain protein content, particularly under NT conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Soil Tillage and Fertilizer Management on Production of Cereal Crops: 2nd Edition)
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26 pages, 2440 KiB  
Article
Precision Nutrient and Soil Tillage Management for Sustainable Winter Barley Production (Hordeum vulgare L.) and Tillage Impact on Soil CO2 Emission
by Amare Assefa Bogale, Zoltan Kende, Akos Tarnawa, Peter Miko, Marta Birkás, Gergő Péter Kovács and Attila Percze
Agronomy 2025, 15(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15010002 - 24 Dec 2024
Viewed by 2904
Abstract
Precision sustainable agronomic practices are crucial for achieving global food security as well as mitigating climate change. A field experiment was conducted at the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Gödöllő from 2023 to 2024. The study aimed to evaluate the [...] Read more.
Precision sustainable agronomic practices are crucial for achieving global food security as well as mitigating climate change. A field experiment was conducted at the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Gödöllő from 2023 to 2024. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of soil tillage and foliar nutrient supplementation on winter barley yield, associated characteristics, and soil CO2 emissions. Employing a split-plot design with three replications, the experiment included four nutrient treatments (control, bio-cereal, bio-algae, and MgSMnZn blend) and two soil tillage type (i.e., plowing and cultivator). The study found that soil CO2 emissions were influenced by the crop growth stage across both tillage treatments throughout the growing seasons, but the tillage system itself did not have an effect. Similarly, the leaf chlorophyll content was not affected by tillage and nutrient treatments. Plant height, the leaf area index (LAI), and thousand kernel weights (TKW) were significantly affected by nutrient treatments across the growing seasons. Both nutrient and tillage treatments also had a notable effect on the number of productive tillers in winter barley. Moreover, nutrient and tillage treatments consistently influenced grain yield across the two growing seasons, and their interaction significantly impacted both grain yield and thousand kernel weights. The bio-cereal nutrient treatment combined with plowing tillage yielded the highest values for most parameters throughout the growing seasons. Therefore, it can be concluded that the combination of bio-cereal nutrient treatments and plowing tillage can boost winter barley yields. Notably, soil CO2 emissions peak during the crops’ reproductive stage, surpassing levels from early growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Soil Tillage and Fertilizer Management on Production of Cereal Crops: 2nd Edition)
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16 pages, 3167 KiB  
Article
Combined Application of Balanced Chemical and Organic Fertilizers on Improving Crop Yield by Affecting Soil Macroaggregation and Carbon Sequestration
by Hongmei Song, Bin Yang, Yifei Liang, Lifan Yang, Jiarong Song and Tingliang Li
Agronomy 2024, 14(12), 2813; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14122813 - 26 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1568
Abstract
Fertilization alters crop yield, soil aggregation, and carbon sequestration potential. However, the specific effects and interactive mechanisms of long-term fertilization on soil organic carbon (SOC), aggregate-associated organic carbon (OC), and yield in dryland wheat fields remain poorly understood. Therefore, a field experiment with [...] Read more.
Fertilization alters crop yield, soil aggregation, and carbon sequestration potential. However, the specific effects and interactive mechanisms of long-term fertilization on soil organic carbon (SOC), aggregate-associated organic carbon (OC), and yield in dryland wheat fields remain poorly understood. Therefore, a field experiment with local farmer fertilization (NP), measured and controlled fertilization (NPK), chemical fertilizer plus organic fertilizer (NPKM), chemical fertilizer plus bio-organic fertilizer (NPKB), and no fertilizer (CK) was conducted for 10 years in a semi-arid region of China. We examined the characteristics of crop yield, SOC stock, and soil aggregate under different fertilization methods to explore the carbon sequestration mechanisms associated with increased yield. The results revealed a significant positive linear correlation between carbon sequestration and carbon input, with a carbon sequestration efficiency of 27.4%. Different fertilization treatments increased the proportion of macroaggregates (>0.25 mm) and significantly improved the water stability of soil aggregates, with the combined application of organic–inorganic fertilizers (NPKM and NPKB treatments) showing the most pronounced effect. A redundancy analysis revealed that carbon input was the most important factor affecting aggregate stability. Partial least squares path modeling revealed that SOC content was enhanced primarily because of the increase in macroaggregate-associated OC and carbon input, which in turn led to higher wheat yields. Our findings indicate that macroaggregate-associated OC and carbon inputs have significant implications for SOC sequestration in dryland fields. Thus, we suggest the integrated application of organic fertilizers with balanced NPK fertilizers to promote SOC accumulation, improve aggregate stability, and enhance crop yield. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Soil Tillage and Fertilizer Management on Production of Cereal Crops: 2nd Edition)
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