Enhancing Crop Yield and Adaptability through Sustainable Soil Management: Effective and Eco-Friendly Practices

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid growth of the global population has led to the construction of new residential colonies on fertile agricultural lands, resulting in a significant decline in crop-production areas. A number of biotic and abiotic stresses are also being attributed to abrupt changes in regional and global climates, which pose a threat to agricultural production. As a result of this situation, sustainable agricultural production is required on the available cultivated lands. In order to maintain crop production, a number of effective and eco-friendly management practices are employed, including minimum/no tillage, legume-based crop rotation, manuring, balanced fertilizer applications, cover crops, cropping patterns, irrigation techniques, etc. Reduced/no tillage along with the inclusion of legumes in crop rotation; application of on-farm inputs, such as manure, compost, and vermicompost; intercropping of leguminous crops with commercially exhaustive crops such as cereals; fallow period management; and the use of bacteria and fungi to increase the efficiency of nutrient use by crops are all viable and sustainable techniques to maintain soil life, improve fertility, and feed plants. These techniques promote sustainable agriculture by ensuring sufficient production of high-quality crops.

In this Special Issue, authors are invited to submit articles on recent scientific advances in soil fertility and crop-production management for enhancing soil health, crop yield, and their adaptability under sustainable agriculture. We welcome novel research, reviews, and opinion papers covering all related topics that enhance our understanding of new agricultural practices that improve and maintain a high level of soil fertility; new methods and technologies for crop fertilization; new sources and processes for providing high-quality crop products without adverse impacts on the soil; as well as the use of plant cover and/or crop associations.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Dimitrios Bilalis
Dr. Ioannis Roussis
Dr. Ioanna Kakabouki
Guest Editors

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