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Crop and Soil Management for Sustainable Agriculture
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Crop and Soil Management for Sustainable Agriculture

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant–Soil Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2025 | Viewed by 3718

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Marcelo Andreotti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Health, Rural Engineering and Soils, College of Engineering, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Ilha Solteira, São Paulo 15385-000, Brazil
Interests: sustainable crop systems; soil quality; soil fertility
Dr. Wander Borges

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro Avançado de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento de Seringueira e Sistemas Agroflorestais, Instituto Agronômico, Votuporanga 15505-970, SP, Brazil
Interests: sustainable crop systems; soil quality

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The adoption of sustainable crop and soil management systems is essential for maintaining the long-term production capacity of soil; it is also crucial for increasing crop yields in order to meet the global food demands. Soil conservation tillage (such as no-till farming) and integrated production, which combines agricultural, livestock, and forestry activities within the same area, are some of the main strategies that can be utilized for achieving these objectives. This Special Issue of Plants presents novel research findings encompassing these sustainable crop systems for improving soil quality and increasing crop yields.

This Special Issue will outline the interactions between soil management and plant yields in sustainable crop systems.

Prof. Dr. Marcelo Andreotti
Dr. Wander Borges
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. 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

  • soil fertility
  • soil chemical attributes
  • soil physical attributes
  • intercropped systems
  • no-till farming
  • agrosilvopastoral systems

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 5901 KiB  
Article
Effects of Water and Nitrogen Regulation on Soil Environment and Crop Growth in a Lycium barbarum||Alfalfa System
by Yanlin Ma, Wenjing Yu, Wenjing Chang, Yayu Wang, Minhua Yin, Yanxia Kang, Guangping Qi, Jinghai Wang, Yuping Zhao and Jinwen Wang
Plants 2024, 13(23), 3348; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13233348 - 29 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 861
Abstract
The increasing scarcity of water and soil resources, combined with inefficient water and fertilizer management, poses significant challenges to agriculture in arid regions. This study aimed to determine an optimal water and nitrogen regulation model to alleviate water shortages and improve agricultural productivity [...] Read more.
The increasing scarcity of water and soil resources, combined with inefficient water and fertilizer management, poses significant challenges to agriculture in arid regions. This study aimed to determine an optimal water and nitrogen regulation model to alleviate water shortages and improve agricultural productivity and quality. In this study, a two-year experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of varying irrigation and nitrogen levels on the soil environment and crop growth in a Lycium barbarum||alfalfa system (LB||AS). The experiment involved four moisture gradients and four nitrogen application levels (using urea as the nitrogen source). The results indicated that soil moisture decreased during crop development, followed by a slow increase, with significant variation across soil depths. Soil temperature peaked during the fruiting stage of Lycium barbarum in July, decreasing significantly with soil depth. Higher temperatures were recorded in N0 under the same irrigation level and in W3 under the same nitrogen level. Soil organic carbon (SOC) levels increased by 16.24% in W3N0 and by 18.05% in W2N1, compared to W0N3. Easily oxidizable organic carbon (EOC) and soluble organic carbon (DOC) levels exhibited significant variations depending on irrigation and nitrogen treatments. Irrigation and nitrogen had a stronger individual impact on alfalfa height and stem thickness than their combined effects. Water and nitrogen regulation significantly influenced Lycium barbarum yield, its 100-fruit weight, and economic efficiency (p < 0.05). The W0N2 treatment produced the highest yield (3238 kg·ha−1), exceeding other treatments by up to 29.52%. In conclusion, the optimal water–nitrogen regulation model for the LB||AS system is full irrigation (75–85% θfc) with a nitrogen application rate of 300 kg·ha−1. These findings offer critical insights for improving water and nitrogen management strategies in arid regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop and Soil Management for Sustainable Agriculture)
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16 pages, 3213 KiB  
Article
Winter Cover Cropping in Sustainable Production Systems: Effects on Soybean and Synergistic Implications for Rhizosphere Microorganisms
by Marjana Vasiljević, Srđan Šeremešić, Dragana Miljaković, Vuk Đorđević, Jelena Marinković, Bojan Vojnov and Vladimir Aćin
Plants 2024, 13(21), 3091; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13213091 - 2 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1662
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of winter cover crops (CCs) on soybean agronomic performance and their implications for different physiological groups of rhizosphere microorganisms in two sustainable production systems. The production techniques for rye, peas, and oats are [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of winter cover crops (CCs) on soybean agronomic performance and their implications for different physiological groups of rhizosphere microorganisms in two sustainable production systems. The production techniques for rye, peas, and oats are well known, but their suitability as CCs for soybean (organic and low-input) production needs to be examined. After two years of trials, soybean yields among the two tested winter CCs (peas and oats (P + O) and rye (R)) were statistically significant only for P + O. The soybean yield in succession to P + O as winter CCs was 3.0 t ha−1, whereas in succession to R, it was 2.7 t ha−1, and in the control plot, it was 2.6 t ha−1. The average soybean grain protein content was in the range of 40 to 41% dry matter (DM), while the oil content ranged from 20 to 22% DM. Protein and oil content primarily depends on the selected soybean variety and it is confirmed through this study that, in the studied system, we can obtain adequate grain nutritional quality. The results indicate an increase in the abundance of total bacteria, ammonifiers, and free N2-fixing bacteria in the rhizosphere, depending on the selected CCs, and differences between the tested production systems. According to this study, winter cover crops (CCs), including peas and oats (P + O) and rye (R), can be included in crop rotation for soybean. CCs can be the answer to agro-biodiversity empowerment in less diverse soybean cropping systems, along with other benefits that CCs can provide at the level of crop rotation. In addition, in almost all aspects of the study, organic production was ahead of low input. Low input is an adequate production system if there are no opportunities for organic certification and for producers who are aware of the advantages of sustainable systems, and it can also represent a transitional path towards regenerative agriculture or organic production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop and Soil Management for Sustainable Agriculture)
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20 pages, 3148 KiB  
Article
Changes in Soil Chemical Attributes in an Agrosilvopastoral System Six Years After Thinning of Eucalyptus
by Wander Luis Barbosa Borges, Marcelo Andreotti, Luan Carlos Pianta da Cruz, Douglas Yuri Osaki de Oliveira, João Francisco Borges and Laryssa de Castro Silva
Plants 2024, 13(21), 3050; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13213050 - 31 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 682
Abstract
The changes in soil chemical attributes in agrosilvopastoral systems after the thinning of trees are unclear. To address this gap, this study evaluated the effects of the thinning of eucalyptus hybrid Urograndis H-13 (Eucalyptus urophylla S. T. Blake × E. grandis W. [...] Read more.
The changes in soil chemical attributes in agrosilvopastoral systems after the thinning of trees are unclear. To address this gap, this study evaluated the effects of the thinning of eucalyptus hybrid Urograndis H-13 (Eucalyptus urophylla S. T. Blake × E. grandis W. Hill ex Maiden) on soil chemical fertility in an agrosilvopastoral system in an Arenic Hapludalf in Brazil. The experimental design was a randomized block with a 3 × 4 factorial design comprising three treatments (thinning of 0%, 50%, or 100% of the eucalyptus trees) and four sampling positions relative to the eucalyptus line (0, 2.0, 4.0, and 6.0 m). Six years after eucalyptus thinning, soil acidification was observed in the 0% and 50% eucalyptus thinning treatments, especially at 0 and 2 m from the eucalyptus line. Decreases in soil pH were associated with increases in the total acidity pH 7.0 (H+ + Al3+) and Al3+ content and decreases in the K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ contents and base saturation over the soil profile (0–1.0 m). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop and Soil Management for Sustainable Agriculture)
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