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The Effect of Appropriate Agriculture Management on Soil and Sustainable Crop Productivity

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 22445

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sameh Kotb Abd-Elmabod

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Guest Editor

1. Soils and Water Use Department, Agricultural and Biological Research Institute, National Research Centre, Cairo 12622, Egypt
2. Agriculture and Food Research Council, Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT), Cairo 11562, Egypt
3. MED_Soil Research Group, Department of Crystallography, Mineralogy and Agricultural Chemistry, Seville University, 41012 Seville, Spain
Interests: land evaluation; climate change models; spatiotemporal analysis of irrigation water quality; soil degradation; agriculture productivity; agroecological modelling and remote sensing techniques; soil carbon sequestration; adaptation strategies; improving soil characteristics; sustainable management; crop models and irrigation management

Dr. Marco Antonio Jiménez-González

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Guest Editor

Geology and Geochemistry Department, Faculty of Sciences, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Interests: soil organic carbon; humic substances; soil organic matter; carbon sequestration; biogeochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The world’s population is about 8 billion, and it is expected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050. This increase will lead to an increase of food demand and surge pressure on the soil and natural resources. The appropriate agriculture management practices (e.g., soil reclamation, fertilization, irrigation, improving soil properties, improving drainage and leaching salts, and soil decontamination) became very necessary to safeguard soil in order to achieve sustainable agriculture productivity. On the other hand, climate change (particularly extreme events such as drought and flood) is a serious threat to agriculture productivity and food security, either directly or through soil degradation. The specific impacts of rapid climate and weather changes on soil, in particular carbon stability, salinity and water retention, are not well understood.

This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality research articles that focus on soil–water–crop interactions, agriculture practices, soil fertility, soil contamination, soil erosion, soil salinity, soil physical and chemical parameters, crop production, and climate change. Soil management techniques have the potential to enhance soil fertility, combat soil degradation, and increase agriculture sustainability. Additionally, suitable agriculture practices can be vital tools to adapt to climate change, and to suggest adaptation strategies for farmers (especially in vulnerable areas) in terms of dealing with future climate change and agriculture management.

Dr. Sameh Kotb Abd-Elmabod
Dr. Marco Antonio Jiménez-González
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
soil organic carbon
biochar application
irrigation management
water productivity
soil degradation
soil erosion
soil contamination
salinization
land evaluation
climate change
remote sensing
geoinformatics
land-use/land-cover changes
crop modeling
sustainable agriculture
agroecology

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 4694 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impacts of Cropping Systems on Glyphosate and Aminomethylphosphonic Acid Contents and Microbial Community in Field Crop Soils in Quebec (Canada)

by William Overbeek, Marc Lucotte, Joël D’Astous-Pagé, Thomas Jeanne, Clara Pin, Matthieu Moingt and Richard Hogue

Agronomy 2024, 14(4), 686; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14040686 - 27 Mar 2024

Viewed by 3026

Abstract

Glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) usage is ubiquitous in Quebec field crops, apart from organic management. As glyphosate generally degrades rapidly in agricultural soils, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) is produced and persists longer than glyphosate. Repeated GBH applications year after year raise questions about glyphosate and AMPA pseudo-persistence in soils and its possible impacts on the soil microbial community. This research aims at understanding the influence of cropping systems and edaphic properties on glyphosate and AMPA contents and on the diversity and composition of the soil microbial community across nine field crop fields located in Southern Quebec (Canada) during 2019 and 2020. Average glyphosate soil contents (0.16 ± 0.15 µg·g⁻¹ dry soil) were lower than average AMPA soil contents (0.37 ± 0.24 µg·g⁻¹ dry soil). Glyphosate and AMPA contents were significantly lower at sites cultivated under organic management than conventional management. For conventional sites, cumulative GBH doses had a significant effect on glyphosate soil contents measured at the end of the growing season, but not on AMPA soil contents. Sites with higher GBH applications appear to accumulate glyphosate over time in the 0–40 cm soil horizon. Glyphosate and AMPA soil contents are inversely proportional to soil pH. Soil prokaryotic and fungal communities’ alpha-diversity, beta-diversity, and functional potential were not impacted by cumulative GBH doses, but rather by soil chemical properties, soil texture, crop rotation, and manure inputs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Appropriate Agriculture Management on Soil and Sustainable Crop Productivity)

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20 pages, 2512 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Combination of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers to Counteract Climate Change Effects on Cultivation of Oilseed Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) Using the APSIM Model in Arid and Semiarid Environments

by Yue Li, Bing Wu, Yuhong Gao, Ling Wu, Xia Zhao, Lili Wu, Hui Zhou and Jie Tang

Agronomy 2023, 13(12), 2995; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13122995 - 6 Dec 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 898

Abstract

The impact of climate change on crop production is a major concern in drought-prone regions, which are experiencing increasingly severe drought conditions. The goal of this study was to use the Agricultural Production System Simulator (APSIM) model to simulate and predict flax yield and water balance, as well as to determine the optimal irrigation and fertilizer for flax production to counteract the effects of climate change under arid and semiarid conditions. The model was calibrated using field experimental data from 2019 to 2020 and evaluated using field experimental data from 2021 to 2022 with a combination of four irrigation treatments (full irrigation, 180 mm, deficit irrigation at vegetative and reproductive stage, no irrigation) and four fertilizer rates (no fertilizer, NPK, NPK + flax oil residue, NPK + farm manure) using a plot design for a total of 16 treatments. To determine the key irrigation and fertility periods and irrigation and fertilization amounts that affect flax yield to address climate change, a combination of four irrigation and six fertilizer rates and six irrigation stages were simulated. The results showed that the model successfully predicted flax yield (R² = 0.98) and water-use efficiency (WUE) (R² = 0.79). When compared to inorganic fertilization, the grain yield and WUE improved by 16.47% and 13.83%; replacing 50% of inorganic fertilizer with flax oil residue achieved the optimal results. The flax yield and WUE increased by 3.37% and 1.25% under full irrigation (180 mm) compared to irrigation of 120 mm with a not-very-significant difference. The positive effect of irrigation on soil water content (SWC) was highest during the budding stage, followed by the flowering stage, fruiting stage, and stemming stage. Therefore, in arid and semiarid areas with scarce water resources, irrigation at a 55% deficiency during the vegetative growth period of flax combined with the application of flax oil residue and NPK (1550 flax oil residue, 45 N, 50.2 P₂O₅, and 33.9 K₂O kg ha⁻¹) might be an effective adaptation strategy for improved future flax production. Our results can facilitate the development of sustainable agriculture practices that reduce water input and improve WUE to counteract climate change effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Appropriate Agriculture Management on Soil and Sustainable Crop Productivity)

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15 pages, 2580 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interactive Effects of Inorganic–Organic Compounds on Passivation of Cadmium in Weakly Alkaline Soil

by Fei Tong, Qin Huang, Lizhu Liu, Guangping Fan, Gaoling Shi, Xin Lu and Yan Gao

Agronomy 2023, 13(10), 2647; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13102647 - 20 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1395

Abstract

The availability of cadmium (Cd) in soils is an important factor affecting the safe production of crops. The application of certain soil amendments could reduce the soil Cd availability via the passivation of Cd. However, the passivation of Cd in alkaline soils is limited. Thus, different inorganic and organic amendments and their compound treatments were selected as passivators for reducing the Cd availability in a weakly alkaline farmland soil. The effects of different single and compound amendments on the soil pH and Cd availability, as well as the interactions between inorganic and organic components in immobilizing Cd, were evaluated. The results showed that the inorganic–organic compound amendments can considerably improve the Cd passivation efficiency in the weakly alkaline soil. Moreover, the inorganic and organic components in the compound amendments exerted different synergistic effects in Cd passivation. The manganese dioxide-based compound amendments showed the most remarkable synergistic effects, while the calcium–magnesium–phosphate fertilizer-based compound amendments displayed the weakest synergistic effects. The underlying mechanisms regarding the synergistic effects may be that the compound amendments enhanced the adsorption/specific adsorption, co-precipitation, and surface complexation of Cd in the alkaline soil. A more balanced recommendation for Cd immobilization in the weakly alkaline soil may be manganese dioxide-based compound amendments, given the synergistic effects and Cd immobilization capabilities of various compound materials. This study may provide a theoretical foundation for the passivation remediation of alkaline Cd-contaminated farmland soils by using inorganic–organic compound amendments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Appropriate Agriculture Management on Soil and Sustainable Crop Productivity)

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16 pages, 3129 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reducing Deep Percolation Losses Using a Geotextile Layer at Different Soil Depths and Irrigation Levels for Lettuce Crop (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata) (Limor)

by Marwa M. Abdelbaset, Osama M. Dewedar, Ebtessam A. Youssef, José Miguel Molina-Martinez and Ahmed F. El-Shafie

Agronomy 2023, 13(6), 1652; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13061652 - 20 Jun 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1133

Abstract

Due to rising food demand and the limitation of water resources, achieving water security is essential. The lettuce crop is affected when grown under limited water supplies as it produces small heads, especially during the late growing stage. For this reason, it is important to maximize water use efficiency and crop productivity. Two successive experiments were conducted during 2021 and 2022 to reduce losses via deep percolation using a geotextile layer at different soil depths under different irrigation levels of the lettuce crop (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata). This study aims to reduce water losses due to deep percolation and improve crop growth and yield parameters for iceberg lettuce under subsurface drip irrigation in sandy loam soil conditions. In order to achieve these aims, different amounts of irrigation (100, 80, and 60% of crop evapotranspiration “ETc”) and a geotextile layer at different soil depths (20, 30, and 40 cm from the soil surface) were used. The results revealed that the use of a geotextile layer with 20 and 30 cm depths significantly improved irrigation application efficiency and noticeably increased soil water content in the root zone. The observed results during both seasons showed that geotextile layers at 20, 30, and 40 cm depths under irrigation of 100% ETc significantly increased vegetative growth characteristics (plant height, head diameter, head circumference, head volume, plant fresh weight, and leaf area) and crop productivity compared to the control (without geotextile). In particular, the geotextile layer at a 30 cm depth under irrigation of 100% of ETc was the most statistically effective treatment in this study, with yield values of 69.3 and 67.5 t ha⁻¹ in the two seasons, respectively. However, the treatments of geotextile layers at 20 and 30 cm depths under irrigation of 80% of ETc also recorded statistically effective results for crop growth parameters and yield in this study. In general, geotextiles can be used at different depths as an irrigation management practice to reduce deep percolation in the field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Appropriate Agriculture Management on Soil and Sustainable Crop Productivity)

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13 pages, 2948 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ameliorative Effects of Vermicompost Application on Yield, Fertilizer Utilization, and Economic Benefits of Continuous Cropping Pepper in Karst Areas of Southwest China

by Meng Zhang, Yanling Liu, Quanquan Wei, Lingling Liu, Xiaofeng Gu, Jiulan Gou and Ming Wang

Agronomy 2023, 13(6), 1591; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13061591 - 13 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1331

Abstract

In recent years, vermicompost (V) has been widely used as an amendment for improving crop productivity and soil quality. However, the ameliorative effect of vermicompost on the continuous cropping pepper remains unclear, particularly in the karst areas of southwestern China. A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of vermicompost application on the yield, quality, nutrient accumulation, fertilizer utilization, and economic benefits of continuous cropping pepper from 2021 to 2022. The experiment included six treatments: CK (no fertilizer), FP (the fertilization practice of local farmers), and FPV (FP combined with vermicompost of 1500, 2250, 3000, and 3750 kg·ha⁻¹). The results show that vermicompost application increased the yield of fresh pod pepper by 28.34–51.36% (2021) and 47.13–68.82% (2022), whereas the yield of dry pod pepper increased by 16.97–35.14% (2021) and 34.48–62.61% (2022), respectively, compared with the FP treatment. The application of vermicompost reduced the nitrate content and increased the vitamin C (VC) and soluble sugar content of the fruits, which is beneficial for improving their quality. Vermicompost application not only increased nutrient uptake but also significantly improved agronomic efficiency (AE) and recovery efficiency (RE). In addition, although the application of vermicompost increased production costs, the increase in yield improved net incomes (16.02–31.83% in 2021 and 35.83–62.85% in 2022), especially in the FPV4 treatment. In conclusion, the use of vermicompost amendment had a positive effect on the productivity and economic benefits of continuous cropping pepper, which may be an effective nutrient management strategy for the continuous cropping pepper in the karst mountain areas of southwest China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Appropriate Agriculture Management on Soil and Sustainable Crop Productivity)

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16 pages, 3272 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Laboratory-Scaled Investigation into Combined Impacts of Temporal Rainfall Patterns and Intensive Tillage on Soil and Water Loss

by Yong Wang, Yulian Jin, Jiaqi Wang, Zhenzhen Ma, Xing Liu and Xinlan Liang

Agronomy 2023, 13(6), 1472; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13061472 - 26 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1247

Abstract

Many studies have focused on the impacts of rainfall duration and intensity, while overlooking the role of rainfall patterns on intensive tillage erosion in hilly agricultural landscapes. The objective of this study was to determine the combined effects of rainfall patterns and tillage erosion on surface runoff and soil loss on sloping farmland in the purple soil area of China. Five simulated rainfall patterns (constant, rising, falling, rising–falling, and falling–rising) with the same total precipitation were designed, and the intensive tillage treatment (IT) and no-tillage treatment (NT) were subjected to simulated rainfall using rectangular steel tanks (2 m × 5 m) with a slope of 15°. To analyse the differences in the hydrological characteristics induced by tillage erosion, we calculated the flow velocity (V), Reynolds number (Re), Froude number (Fr), and Darcy–Weisbach resistance coefficient (f). The results indicate that significant differences in surface runoff and sediment yield were found among different rainfall patterns and rainfall stages (p < 0.05). The falling pattern and falling–rising pattern had a shorter time gap between the rainfall initiation and runoff occurrence as well as a larger sediment yield than those of the other rainfall patterns. The value of f varied from 0.30 to 9.05 for the IT and 0.48 to 11.57 for the NT and exhibited an approximately inverse trend to V and Fr over the course of the rainfall events. Compared with the NT, the mean sediment yield rates from the IT increased the dynamic range of 8.34–16.21% among the different rainfall patterns. The net contributions of the IT ranged from 2.77% to 46.39% in terms of surface runoff and 10.14–78.95% in terms of sediment yield on sloping farmland. The surface runoff and sediment yield were positively correlated with rainfall intensity, V, and Fr, but negatively correlated with f irrespective of tillage operation (p < 0.05). The results showed that the tillage erosion effects on soil and water loss were closely related to rainfall patterns in hilly agricultural landscapes. Our study not only sheds light on the mechanism of tillage erosion and rainfall erosion but also provides useful insights for developing tillage water erosion prediction models to evaluate soil and water loss on cultivated hillslopes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Appropriate Agriculture Management on Soil and Sustainable Crop Productivity)

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23 pages, 7968 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Artificial Intelligence Integrated GIS for Land Suitability Assessment of Wheat Crop Growth in Arid Zones to Sustain Food Security

by Radwa A. El Behairy, Hasnaa M. El Arwash, Ahmed A. El Baroudy, Mahmoud M. Ibrahim, Elsayed Said Mohamed, Nazih Y. Rebouh and Mohamed S. Shokr

Agronomy 2023, 13(5), 1281; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13051281 - 29 Apr 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2641

Abstract

Developing countries all over the world face numerous difficulties with regard to food security. The purpose of this research is to develop a new approach for evaluating wheat’s suitability for cultivation. To this end, geographical information systems (GIS) and fuzzy inference systems (FIS) are used as the most appropriate artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Outcomes of investigations carried out in the western Nile Delta, Egypt. The fuzzy inference system used was Mamdani type. The membership functions used in this work are sigmoidal, Gaussian, and zmf membership. The inputs in this research are chemical, physical, and fertility soil indices. To predict the final soil suitability using FIS, it is required to implement 81 IF-THEN rules that were written by some experts. The obtained results show the effectiveness of FIS in predicting the wheat crop’s suitability compared to conventional methods. The research region is split into four classes: around 241.3 km² is highly suitable for wheat growth, and 224 km² is defined as having moderate suitability. The third soil suitability class (low), which comprises 252.73 km², is larger than the unsuitable class, which comprises 40 km². The method given here can be easily applied again in an arid region. Decision-makers may benefit from the research’s quantitative findings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Appropriate Agriculture Management on Soil and Sustainable Crop Productivity)

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16 pages, 1268 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Suitability of Volcanic Ash, Rice Husk Ash, Green Compost and Biochar as Amendments for a Mediterranean Alkaline Soil

by José María De la Rosa, Sara María Pérez-Dalí, Paloma Campos, Águeda Sánchez-Martín, José Antonio González-Pérez and Ana Zelia Miller

Agronomy 2023, 13(4), 1097; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13041097 - 11 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2478

Abstract

Today’s agriculture has the challenge of ensuring food supply for a growing population while human activity has already deteriorated about 40% of the world’s soils, reducing productive capacity and increasing reliance on mineral fertilizers. In this context, valorizing and recycling mineral and agricultural waste for use as substrates or soil supplements enhance a sustainable economy, as well as the development of activities focused on finishing the soil nutrients’ cycle. Looking for an effective solution to the massive waste generation and to enhance the agronomic qualities of soils, this study investigates the agronomic impact of contrasting inorganic and organic materials such as green compost (GC), wood biochar (WB), rice husk ash (RA), and volcanic ash (VA) as amendments to an alkaline Luvisol under controlled conditions. In this sense, barley seeds were planted and grown in a greenhouse under controlled conditions for 60 days on a soil amended with the aforementioned materials. The amendments demonstrated appropriate attributes for improving soil agronomic properties, enhancing the soil’s nutritional content with no effect on barley germination. The WB showed high aromaticity and abundance of refractory organic C. Both ash-rich amendments showed high P and K contents, which are important elements for plant development. The GC has high water retention capacity and an adequate C and N balance. Although the application of the amendments had no effect on barley yields, the plants from the ash-amended pots showed an increase of Photosystem II efficiency, indicative of a better physiological status. In terms of toxicological safety, the abundance of trace elements in soils and plants was investigated. All soils met the maximum allowable limits for these persistent pollutants. Nevertheless, longer-term tests on plants are required to determine the risk of Pb accumulation, particularly in soils amended with GC and compost-ash mixtures. The simultaneous combination of organic and inorganic amendments showed adequate agronomic attributes. WB analysis revealed its great recalcitrance and carbon sequestration potential. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Appropriate Agriculture Management on Soil and Sustainable Crop Productivity)

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Review

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25 pages, 2669 KiB

Open AccessReview

An Overview of Smart Irrigation Management for Improving Water Productivity under Climate Change in Drylands

by Zeeshan Ahmed, Dongwei Gui, Ghulam Murtaza, Liu Yunfei and Sikandar Ali

Agronomy 2023, 13(8), 2113; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13082113 - 11 Aug 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6984

Abstract

Global drylands, covering about 41% of Earth’s surface and inhabited by 38% of the world’s population, are facing the stark challenges of water scarcity, low water productivity, and food insecurity. This paper highlights the major constraints to agricultural productivity, traditional irrigation scheduling methods, and associated challenges, efforts, and progress to enhance water use efficiency (WUE), conserve water, and guarantee food security by overviewing different smart irrigation approaches. Widely used traditional irrigation scheduling methods (based on weather, plant, and soil moisture conditions) usually lack important information needed for precise irrigation, which leads to over- or under-irrigation of fields. On the other hand, by using several factors, including soil and climate variation, soil properties, plant responses to water deficits, and changes in weather factors, smart irrigation can drive better irrigation decisions that can help save water and increase yields. Various smart irrigation approaches, such as artificial intelligence and deep learning (artificial neural network, fuzzy logic, expert system, hybrid intelligent system, and deep learning), model predictive irrigation systems, variable rate irrigation (VRI) technology, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) could ensure high water use efficiency in water-scarce regions. These smart irrigation technologies can improve water management and accelerate the progress in achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where no one gets left behind. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Appropriate Agriculture Management on Soil and Sustainable Crop Productivity)

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