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Maximizing Crop Yield and Resource Use Efficiency: Innovative Agronomic Practices...
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Maximizing Crop Yield and Resource Use Efficiency: Innovative Agronomic Practices (Volume II)

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 3493

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Shulan Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: water and nutrient management on dryland cereals (wheat, maize); response of soil fertility to nutrient management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global population is continuously increasing, but the Earth’s natural resources are either fixed or dwindling, including fresh water, arable land, and limited, non-renewable phosphate rock. On the other hand, improper agricultural performances in the production process continue to result in soil degradation and environmental pollution (air and water). Hence, producing enough food in an environmentally friendly manner faces great challenges. Coping with these challenges requires agricultural green production, i.e., maximizing crop yield and resource use efficiency, alongside minimizing our environmental footprint. Innovative agronomic practices could help to achieve these goals and contribute to the improvement of soil fertility, rational design of cropping systems, introduction of new varieties, water-saving technology, development of efficient fertilizers, precision nutrient management, precision agriculture, etc.

In this Special Issue, we aim to exchange knowledge on any aspect related to innovative agronomic practices in diverse environments that help to maximize crop productivity and resource (radiation, water, nutrient, etc.) use efficiency.

Prof. Dr. Shulan Zhang
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

  • soil fertility
  • cropping system
  • water-saving technology
  • efficient fertilizer
  • nutrient management
  • precision agriculture

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1823 KiB  
Article
Soil and Its Interaction with the Climate Jointly Drive the Change in Basic Soil Productivity under Long-Term Fertilizer Management
by Jinfeng Wang, Xueyun Yang, Shaomin Huang, Lei Wu, Zejiang Cai and Minggang Xu
Agronomy 2023, 13(12), 2934; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13122934 - 28 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1310
Abstract
Basic soil productivity (BSP) is the productive capacity of farmland soils with their own physical and chemical properties during a specific crop season under local field management. Improving BSP as an effective way to increase or maintain crop yield, and researching its changes [...] Read more.
Basic soil productivity (BSP) is the productive capacity of farmland soils with their own physical and chemical properties during a specific crop season under local field management. Improving BSP as an effective way to increase or maintain crop yield, and researching its changes and potential driving factors under long-term fertilization are crucial for ensuring high and stable crop yields. In this study, the yields of BSP were simulated using the decision support system for agrotechnology transfer (DSSAT) crop model based on three long-term experiments, and its changing characteristics and driving factors were investigated under various fertilization treatments in wheat–maize rotation systems during 1991–2019. Five treatments were included: (1) unfertilized control (CK); (2) balanced mineral fertilization (NPK); (3) NPK plus manure (NPKM); (4) high dose of NPK plus manure (1.5NPKM); and (5) NPK plus crop straw (NPKS). This study found that the BSP of wheat and maize exhibited a fluctuating increase or stable change trend under four fertilization treatments at the Yangling (YL) and Zhengzhou (ZZ) sites, while a fluctuating reduction trend was observed at the Qiyang (QY) site. Compared with CK, NPKM, 1.5NPKM and NPKS significantly (p < 0.05) improved the BSP of wheat and maize at the YL and ZZ sites. The BSP of both maize and wheat under NPKM and 1.5NPKM was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than that under NPK or NPKS, whereas no statistically significant difference was found between NPK and NPKS at the QY site. The contribution rates of basic soil productivity (CBSP) of maize and wheat at the YL (41.5–60.7% and 53.0–64.3%) and ZZ sites (44.4–59.2% and 56.8–66.7%) were overall higher than that at the QY site (25.8–37.6% and 48.3–60.1%). In most cases, the difference in CBSP among different fertilization treatments was consistent with that in BSP. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was recorded between BSP and soil pH (r = 0.73, p < 0.01; r = 0.87, p < 0.01), TN (r = 0.56, p < 0.01; r = 0.62, p < 0.01) and TK content (r = 0.49, p < 0.01; r = 0.58, p < 0.01) in maize and wheat. Soil pH significantly correlated positively with the BSP of maize (R2 = 0.54, p < 0.001) and wheat (R2 = 0.49, p < 0.001) at the QY site, but negative correlation (R2 = 0.20, p < 0.001; R2 = 0.30, p < 0.001) was only found in maize at the YL and ZZ sites. The BSP of maize and wheat showed a significant negative linear correlation with MAP (R2 = 0.49–0.67, p < 0.001) and MAT (R2 = 0.36–0.62, p < 0.001). Random forests (RF) and variance partitioning analysis (VPA) revealed that soil properties and its interaction with the climate showed a higher explanation rate for BSP, indicating that these factors are the key drivers of BSP change. Overall, chemical fertilizers combined with manure can effectively increase BSP, while the effects of fertilizer combined with straw on BSP vary by region. The changes in BSP in wheat–maize cropping were mainly driven by both the soil and its interactions with the climate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Maximizing Crop Yield and Resource Use Efficiency: Innovative Agronomic Practices (Volume II))
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18 pages, 2655 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Organic Substitution Promotes Carbon and Nitrogen Sequestration and Benefit Crop Production in Upland Field
by Hu Xu, Andong Cai, Xueyun Yang, Shulan Zhang, Shaomin Huang, Boren Wang, Ping Zhu, Gilles Colinet, Nan Sun, Minggang Xu and Wenju Zhang
Agronomy 2023, 13(9), 2381; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092381 - 13 Sep 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1717
Abstract
Partial substitution of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer with manure (organic substitution) is highly recommended to minimize environmental risks without compromising crop productivity in intensive agricultural systems. However, our understanding of the effect of organic substitution on soil organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) [...] Read more.
Partial substitution of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer with manure (organic substitution) is highly recommended to minimize environmental risks without compromising crop productivity in intensive agricultural systems. However, our understanding of the effect of organic substitution on soil organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) in deep soil and its impact on crop productivity remains limited. Here we investigated OC and TN changes in soil profile down to 100 cm, crop yield, and sustainable yield index under synthetic nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium fertilizers (NPK), NPK plus straw (NPKS), and organic substitution (NPKM) treatments over two decades in four upland fields across different climate zones. Compared with the initial values, two decades of NPKM treatment significantly (p < 0.05) increased OC and TN stocks in either topsoil (by 25.6–103.8 and 15.8–89.8%) or deep soil (by 2.9–71.3 and 5.7–36.9%), respectively, across all sites. The increases in OC and TN stocks in 0–100 cm soil receiving NPKM were significantly higher than those receiving NPK at all sites and NPKS at three high-evaporation sites. Compared with NPKS and NPK treatments, crop yield and N uptake were significantly increased under NPKM treatment only at the Qiyang site. Furthermore, OC sequestration in the entire soil profile down to 100 cm and TN accumulation in topsoil exhibited significant positive correlations with crop N uptake, relative crop yield, and sustainable yield index. In conclusion, long-term partial substitution of synthetic N fertilizer with manure facilitates soil OC and TN sequestration in the entire 100 cm profile and thus maintains high crop productivity in upland areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Maximizing Crop Yield and Resource Use Efficiency: Innovative Agronomic Practices (Volume II))
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