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Modern Technologies in Water and Fertilizer Management for Sustainable Crop...
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Modern Technologies in Water and Fertilizer Management for Sustainable Crop Production

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Physiology and Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 1570

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Shouchen Ma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Quantitative Remote Sensing & Smart Agriculture, School of Surveying and Land Information Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454000, China
Interests: water-saving irrigation; remote sensing technology; GIS; high-efficiency water use for crops; water resources and the environment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shoutian Ma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Farmland Irrigation of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xinxiang 453003, China
Interests: water-saving irrigation; crops’ water physiology; high-efficiency water use for crops; soil’s physical and chemical characteristics; crop system
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Yang Gao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Farmland Irrigation, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xinxiang 453003, China
Interests: irrigation methods; water productivity; drip irrigation; crop–water relations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Tongchao Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Colleague of Agriculture, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China
Interests: high-efficiency water use for crops; crop–water model; water-saving irrigation; crop–water physiology; soil’s physical and chemical characteristics; crop system
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sen Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Farmland Irrigation, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Xinxiang 453002, China
Interests: water-saving irrigation; RZWQM; root system architecture; yield; water use efficiency

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water and nutrients are fundamental to crop growth and agricultural productivity. Efficient management of these resources is critical for sustainable agriculture. While technologies such as drones, remote sensing, smart greenhouses, and climate monitoring are transforming agricultural practices, the impact of these technologies on plant growth, physiology, and ecological interactions remains a key area of research.

This Special Issue focuses on the application of modern technologies to optimize water and fertilizer management, with particular emphasis on their roles in improving plant health, growth, and water use efficiency. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, rapid and accurate sensing of soil moisture and nutrients, advanced water and fertilizer management strategies, the use of big data and machine learning in plant-based systems, and other technological approaches for enhancing the efficiency of water and nutrient utilization. Both systematic reviews and short communications are welcome.

Yours faithfully,

Prof. Dr. Shouchen Ma
Dr. Shoutian Ma
Prof. Dr. Yang Gao
Prof. Dr. Tongchao Wang
Dr. Sen Li
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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

  • intelligent irrigation
  • agricultural big data
  • remote sensing technology
  • GIS
  • crop systems
  • crop production
  • internet of things
  • water and fertilizer management

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 3870 KB  
Article
Trait-Based Optimization of Plant Density in Drip-Fertigated Wheat: Yield Formation and Nitrogen–Radiation–Water Use Efficiency Responses of Varieties Contrasting in Individual Spike Productivity
by Xiaoyan Zhou, Mei Qian, Faming Wang, Dapeng Gao, Guitao Zhao, Shiwei Wang, Depeng Wang and Xiaojun Hu
Plants 2026, 15(8), 1167; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15081167 - 9 Apr 2026
Viewed by 145
Abstract
Optimizing plant density is critical for improving wheat yield and resource-use efficiency, but whether a single density recommendation applies to varieties differing in individual spike productivity under drip fertigation remains unclear. A two-year field experiment (2023–2024 and 2024–2025) was conducted with two winter [...] Read more.
Optimizing plant density is critical for improving wheat yield and resource-use efficiency, but whether a single density recommendation applies to varieties differing in individual spike productivity under drip fertigation remains unclear. A two-year field experiment (2023–2024 and 2024–2025) was conducted with two winter wheat varieties contrasting in spike type: a multi-spike type (Jimai23, MS) and a large-spike type (Jimai24, LS). Four target densities (200, 300, 400, and 500 plants m−2) were evaluated under drip fertigation to quantify yield formation, dry matter production, radiation interception and use, N uptake and nutritional status, and water use. Grain yield responses to density differed markedly between varieties. MS showed an increase–plateau–decline pattern, with the highest yields at 300–400 plants m−2 (10.13–10.97 t ha−1), whereas LS increased to 400 plants m−2 and remained relatively stable at 500 plants m−2 (9.97–10.55 t ha−1). Increasing density increased spike number, LAI, intercepted solar radiation (ISR), and soil water consumption but decreased grains per spike, grain weight, and yield per spike in both varieties. Yield variation was more strongly associated with post-anthesis dry matter production than with grain number. Although MS intercepted more radiation, its radiation use efficiency (RUE), post-anthesis N uptake, N nutrition index (NNI), harvest index, agronomic N-use efficiency, fertilizer N recovery efficiency, and water use efficiency (WUE) declined sharply at high density. In contrast, LS maintained relatively stable RUE, higher NNI, stronger N uptake, and higher WUE at medium-to-high densities. These results demonstrate that optimal density under drip fertigation is variety-dependent and should be determined using a trait-based framework integrating nitrogen–radiation–water use efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modern Technologies in Water and Fertilizer Management for Sustainable Crop Production)
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18 pages, 1298 KB  
Article
Optimization of Water and N Regulation for Mung Bean (Vigna radiata L.) Cultivation Under Drip Irrigation Using TOPSIS Method in Mollisols Region of Northeast China
by Dehao Lu, Ying Liu, Yimeng Zhu, Lili Jiang, Tianyi Wang, Peng Chen, Tangzhe Nie and Xingtao Xiao
Plants 2026, 15(4), 669; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15040669 - 23 Feb 2026
Viewed by 583
Abstract
Optimizing the coupling effect between irrigation and N fertilizer to balance mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) production and the effective utilization of water and fertilizer resources is an important challenge for sustainable agricultural production. In this study, a field drip irrigation experiment [...] Read more.
Optimizing the coupling effect between irrigation and N fertilizer to balance mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) production and the effective utilization of water and fertilizer resources is an important challenge for sustainable agricultural production. In this study, a field drip irrigation experiment was conducted on Mollisols in Northeast China, and twelve treatments were performed: four levels of soil water content (W1, 80~100% of field capacity; W2, 70~90% of field capacity; W3, 60~80% of field capacity; W4, rainfed condition) and three N application treatments (40 (N1), 80 (N2), and 120 (N3) kg/ha). We analyzed the coupling effects of water and N levels on mung bean growth, yield and yield components, water consumption, water use efficiency (WUE) and N partial factor productivity (PFP) in 2021 and 2022 and screened the optimal water and N regulation by the TOPSIS method. The results showed that the amount of N application dominated the regulation of water and N. In the first year, plant height, stem diameter, number of seeds per pod, 100-seeds weight, yield, aboveground dry matter accumulation, WUE, and PFP in mung bean decreased with increasing N applications at the same irrigation treatment. Furthermore, except for WUE, all results of the W3N1 treatment reached the highest levels, at 79.14 cm, 13 mm, 12.4, 6.2 g, 1430.45 kg/ha, 79.27 g (the drumming stage), and 35.76 kg/kg, respectively. The second year, plant height, stem diameter, yield and WUE had an increasing trend with increasing N applications at the W1. Based on the TOPSIS method, the W3N1 treatment could obtain the optimal comprehensive benefits of yield, WUE and PFP. This study can provide a most suitable water and N regulation model for guiding mung bean cultivation in the Mollisols region of Northeast China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modern Technologies in Water and Fertilizer Management for Sustainable Crop Production)
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21 pages, 14183 KB  
Article
Root–Canopy Coordination Drives High Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Dryland Winter Wheat
by Meng Li, Limin Zhang, Yuanxin Li, Yunxuan Cao, Yueran Zhang, Zhiqiang Gao, Dongsheng Zhang and Wen Lin
Plants 2026, 15(1), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15010153 - 4 Jan 2026
Viewed by 534
Abstract
Improving yield and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) is essential for dryland winter wheat. We hypothesized that cultivars classified as high-yield and high-efficiency (HH) achieve superior performance through coordinated root–canopy traits that enhance water and nitrogen acquisition, sustain post-anthesis photosynthesis, and maintain assimilate and nitrogen [...] Read more.
Improving yield and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) is essential for dryland winter wheat. We hypothesized that cultivars classified as high-yield and high-efficiency (HH) achieve superior performance through coordinated root–canopy traits that enhance water and nitrogen acquisition, sustain post-anthesis photosynthesis, and maintain assimilate and nitrogen remobilization. A two-year field experiment was conducted using ten regionally representative cultivars, which were grouped into HH, high-yield and low-efficiency (HL), low-yield and high-efficiency (LH), and low-yield and low-efficiency (LL) types based strictly on grain yield and NUE. Measurements included yield components, grain-filling, dry matter accumulation and partitioning, soil water use, nitrogen uptake and remobilization, and root–canopy structural traits. HH increased yield by 41.5% and water-use efficiency by 24.1% relative to LH, supported by denser shallow roots, moderate deeper-root development, higher leaf area index, and more compact canopies. HH also exhibited stronger post-anthesis dry matter and nitrogen translocation, resulting in a larger grain number per unit area and improved sink capacity. Correlation analyses further demonstrated positive associations among root–canopy traits, water and nitrogen dynamics, and yield formation. These results support the hypothesis that a coordinated root–canopy structure underlies the superior yield and NUE performance of HH cultivars in dryland systems, providing a physiological basis for cultivar improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modern Technologies in Water and Fertilizer Management for Sustainable Crop Production)
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