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Emerging Trends in Alternative and Sustainable Crop Production
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Emerging Trends in Alternative and 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: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 2923

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Bilalis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Agronomy, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: agronomy; organic agriculture; certification; soil management; weed management; environmental impact of agriculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ioanna Kakabouki

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Agronomy, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: fertilization; organic agriculture; weed management; tillage; novel crops
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ioannis Roussis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Agronomy, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: agronomy; crop science; organic agriculture; fertilization; weeds; tillage; feed crops; alternative crops; industrial crops; sustainable agriculture; medicinal plants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, cropping system research has expanded beyond basic production agronomy to address the demands of farmers to farm environmentally, ethically, economically, and socially. A wide range of topics are investigated in cropping systems research today, including agronomic, ecological, environmental, social, and economic aspects. New trends are emerging in technical aspects, and new tools are being developed for research. As part of this process, the biological basis for sustainability is also being examined. Sustainability is based on the idea that present needs should be met while protecting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The present Special Issue, entitled "Emerging Trends in Alternative and Sustainable Crop Production", attempts to describe the sustainability of cropping systems by focusing on various global issues and on recent innovations in environmentally friendly and alternative agricultural practices and technologies, including utilizing waste materials, adapting and mitigating climate change, managing natural resources, developing and maintaining healthy soils, sequestering soil carbon, managing water and nutrients in cropping systems, minimizing air and water pollution, promoting biodiversity, etc. This Special Issue of Plants will highlight the trends and alternative and sustainable paradigm shifts that have taken place globally in agricultural cropping systems research.

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

  • alternative agricultural practices
  • adaptation
  • crop management
  • climate change
  • healthy soils
  • water and nutrient management

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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16 pages, 1501 KiB  
Article
Virulence of Five Root-Knot Nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) on Nine Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Varieties and Nematicidal Potential of Hemp Seed Extracts Against Meloidogyne javanica
by Dionysios Ntinokas, Ioannis Roussis, Antonios Mavroeidis, Panteleimon Stavropoulos, Antigolena Folina, Ioanna Kakabouki, Emmanuel A. Tzortzakakis, Dimitrios Bilalis and Ioannis O. Giannakou
Plants 2025, 14(2), 227; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14020227 - 15 Jan 2025
Viewed by 887
Abstract
The most common and damaging plant parasitic nematodes are root-knot nematodes (RNK). Although hemp has been clearly infected by RNK, little information is available regarding the extent of the damage and losses caused. In addition, no information is available concerning hemp seed extracts’ [...] Read more.
The most common and damaging plant parasitic nematodes are root-knot nematodes (RNK). Although hemp has been clearly infected by RNK, little information is available regarding the extent of the damage and losses caused. In addition, no information is available concerning hemp seed extracts’ activity against RNK. In the current research, a greenhouse experiment was developed to evaluate the infection effect of five RKN species (Meloidogyne javanica, M. incognita, M. arenaria, M. hapla, and M. luci) in nine industrial hemp varieties (Fedora 17, Ferimon 12, Futura 75, Santhica 27, Santhica 70, KC Dora, KC Zuzana, Zenit, and USO 31), as was a laboratory experiment to evaluate the nematicidal activity of aqueous and water extracts of hemp seeds against second-stage juveniles (J2s) of M. javanica. The results revealed that the five evaluated Meloidogyne species were pathogenic to hemp plants. The lowest shoot weights were recorded in plants that were inoculated with M. javanica and M. luci (4.65 and 4.53 g, respectively). As for the root system, the most severe damage of the roots was detected in M. incognita-infected plants, presenting the lowest root weight (1.72 g). Regarding hemp varieties, the most susceptible were USO 31, Fedora 17, Ferimon 12, and Zenit, while Futura 75 hosted the lowest nematode numbers, including the lowest values of females per gram of root (10.66), number of egg masses per gram of root (4.70), and fecundity (33.68 eggs per egg mass). Moreover, this research showed that aqueous and ethanolic hemp seed extracts can control M. javanica. After 24, 48, 72, and 96 h of exposure to high concentrations (250–2000 ppm) of ethanolic and aqueous extracts, the J2s were permanently paralyzed; however, at low concentrations, only the ethanolic extract was effective. The ethanolic extract paralyzed J2s at concentrations higher than 62.5 ppm and reduced the egg hatching by up to 76% compared to the control treatment. In general, the efficacy of the aqueous extract was considerably lower than that of the ethanolic extract. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in Alternative and Sustainable Crop Production)
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17 pages, 1263 KiB  
Article
Differences in Grain Yield and Nitrogen Uptake between Tetraploid and Diploid Rice: The Physiological Mechanisms under Field Conditions
by Jian Xiao, Zhuang Xiong, Jiada Huang, Zuolin Zhang, Detian Cai, Dongliang Xiong, Kehui Cui, Shaobing Peng and Jianliang Huang
Plants 2024, 13(20), 2884; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13202884 - 15 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1126
Abstract
Research indicates that, owing to the enhanced grain-filling rate of tetraploid rice, its yield has notably improved compared to previous levels. Studies conducted on diploid rice have revealed that optimal planting density and fertilization rates play crucial roles in regulating rice yield. In [...] Read more.
Research indicates that, owing to the enhanced grain-filling rate of tetraploid rice, its yield has notably improved compared to previous levels. Studies conducted on diploid rice have revealed that optimal planting density and fertilization rates play crucial roles in regulating rice yield. In this study, we investigated the effects of different nitrogen application and planting density treatments on the growth, development, yield, and nitrogen utilization in tetraploid (represented by T7, an indica–japonica conventional allotetraploid rice) and diploid rice (Fengliangyou-4, represented by FLY4, a two-line super hybrid rice used as a reference variety for the approval of super rice with a good grain yield performance). The results indicated that the highest grain-filling rate of T7 could reach 77.8% under field experimental conditions due to advancements in tetraploid rice breeding. This is a significant improvement compared with the rate seen in previous research. Under the same conditions, T7 exhibited a significantly lower grain yield than FLY4, which could be attributed to its lower grain-filling rate, spikelets per panicle, panicle number m−2, and harvest index score. Nitrogen application and planting density displayed little effect on the grain yield of both genotypes. A higher planting density significantly enhanced the leaf area index and biomass accumulation, but decreased the harvest index score. Compared with T7, FLY4 exhibited a significantly higher nitrogen use efficiency (NUEg), which was mainly due to the higher nitrogen content in the straw. Increasing nitrogen application significantly decreased NUEg due to its minimal effect on grain yield combined with its significant enhancement of nitrogen uptake. Our results suggest that the yield and grain-filling rate of T7 have been improved compared with those of previously tested polyploid rice, but are still lower than those of FLY4, and the yield of tetraploid rice can be further improved by enhancing the grain-filling rate, panicle number m−2, and spikelets per panicle via genotype improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in Alternative and Sustainable Crop Production)
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16 pages, 284 KiB  
Perspective
The Promotion of Alternative Crop Production Paradigms Should Be Founded on Proven Science-Based Approaches
by Jillian Lenné and David Wood
Plants 2025, 14(5), 681; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14050681 - 23 Feb 2025
Viewed by 504
Abstract
Recent discourse on the need to adopt alternative approaches to sustainable crop production has strongly criticized modern, usually referred to as “industrial”, agriculture as the main cause of environmental problems and a loss of biodiversity, which is concerning given that modern agriculture currently [...] Read more.
Recent discourse on the need to adopt alternative approaches to sustainable crop production has strongly criticized modern, usually referred to as “industrial”, agriculture as the main cause of environmental problems and a loss of biodiversity, which is concerning given that modern agriculture currently feeds over 90% of the global population. Ongoing criticisms of modern agriculture have escalated into calls to replace it, largely based on the belief that alternative approaches will lead to sustainable crop production, although food production potential is rarely mentioned. This paper critically analyzes two such alternatives, agroecology and the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS), a sub-set of agroecological approaches with a focus on the Global South. In the case of agroecology, this paper considers the role of diversity in cropping systems and the input reduction paradigm, as well as labor productivity. Modern agriculture already provides a wide range of science-based, proven crop and field diversification options without the need to rely on in-field crop species diversity. Furthermore, a reduction in or the elimination of chemical fertilizers with a preference for compost and manure is not a viable strategy where soils are severely degraded. In the case of the VACS, the planned emphasis on “opportunistic”, locally adapted, traditional/indigenous crops is challenged by the importance of introduced crops to food production, especially in Africa. We conclude by recommending a pragmatic approach to using all of the available agricultural practices wisely to produce enough food in an environmentally responsible manner. Global leadership is needed to bring the divergent views of scientists and environmentalists together to improve food production and nutrition, livelihoods, and the agricultural environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in Alternative and Sustainable Crop Production)
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