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Plants
Special Issues
Nutrient Management for Crop Production and Quality
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Nutrient Management for Crop Production and Quality

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 2157

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ming Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agriculture, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, China
Interests: nutrient management; integration of water and fertilizer; tillage practice; double cropping system; crop physiology; sustainable agriculture; high yield, high quality, and high efficiency
Dr. Xiaoli Hui

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Soil and Fertilizer Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei 230001, China
Interests: plant nutrition and regulation; fertilization; micronutrient; biofortification; integration of water and fertilizer; high-yielding and high efficiency; dryland water and fertilizer management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the improvement of people's living standards and the rapid development of the food processing industry, the demands for high-quality crops are becoming increasingly stringent. Thus, the target of crop production has gradually shifted from high yields to high yields with high quality in many countries. There are lots of practical nutrient management strategies used to improve the yields and quality of crops; however, most of these lack of convincing experimental data and are not in-depth mechanistic studies. Related research has mainly focused on major crops, especially when data and prior studies come from farmers or extension personnel. Additionally, the technologies used for achieving high yields and high quality should be thoroughly summarized and shared globally to increase the production and quality of crops.

This Special Issue focuses on standalone technologies and integrated technologies used for achieving high-yield and high-quality crops. The effects of yield and quality improvements and their underlying mechanisms should be presented at the field, nutrition, physiology, ecology, and even molecular level. New technologies involving the integration of agricultural machines, nutrient management, and “green” technologies that have been developed to improve the yield, processing, and nutritional qualities of crops are particularly welcome. Original research articles, short communications, and reviews will be welcomed.

Dr. Ming Huang
Dr. Xiaoli Hui
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

  • nutrient management
  • high yield
  • high quality
  • integration of water and fertilizer
  • soil tillage practice
  • crop physiology
  • integrated technologies
  • double cropping system
  • food crops
  • micronutrients
  • plant growth regulators
  • drones

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 2625 KB  
Article
Effects of Ridge and Furrow Planting Patterns on Crop Yield and Grain Quality in Dryland Maize–Wheat Double Cropping System
by Qihui Zhou, Ming Huang, Chuan Hu, Aohan Liu, Shiyan Dong, Kaiming Ren, Wenzhong Tian, Junhong Li, Fang Li, Guozhan Fu, Jinzhi Wu and Youjun Li
Plants 2025, 14(19), 3030; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14193030 - 30 Sep 2025
Viewed by 431
Abstract
Ridge and furrow planting is a prevalent drought-resistant cultivation technique in dryland regions. Notably, the effects of this technology on crop grain yield and quality in dryland maize–wheat double-cropping systems remain limited. This study utilized a long-term positioning experiment initiated in 2004, which [...] Read more.
Ridge and furrow planting is a prevalent drought-resistant cultivation technique in dryland regions. Notably, the effects of this technology on crop grain yield and quality in dryland maize–wheat double-cropping systems remain limited. This study utilized a long-term positioning experiment initiated in 2004, which included five treatments: a permanent ridge and furrow with a border ridge of 133 cm row space (PRFBR); a ridge and furrow created each year with a border ridge of 133 cm row space (EYRFBR); a permanent ridge with a normal ridge of 100 cm row space (PRFNR); a ridge and furrow created each year with a normal ridge of 100 cm row space (EYRFNR), and a conventional flat planting pattern according to the local farmer (CF). The crop grain yield in 2015–2021, as well as the protein and phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) content in maize and wheat grains, and the protein components in winter wheat grains in 2020–2021 were investigated. The results showed that, compared to CF, all four ridge and furrow planting patterns significantly enhanced crop yield in dry and normal years, and the effects varied depending on crop species, with increases of 45.3–97.8% for wheat and 11.0–33.8% increases annually in dry years; and 24.5–51.6% increases for maize and 12.2–37.5% increases annually in the normal years. EYRFBR treatment increased wheat grain P and K content by 24.3% and 13.7%, as well as increasing the total protein, albumin, gliadin, soluble protein, and storage protein content by 9.7%, 22.3%, 9.6%, 14.5%, and 5.6%, whereas PRFNR reduced the glutenin content and glutenin/gliadin ratio in winter wheat grains by 5.1% and 10.9%, respectively. The yield achieved with a permanent ridge and furrow (PRF) surpassed that achieved when the ridge and furrow was created anew each year (EYRF), yet the normal ridge width (NR) outperformed the border ridge width (BR). However, the P, K, protein, and protein component content in wheat grains under EYRF was superior to that under PRF. Comprehensive evaluations through principal component analysis (PCA) and TOPSIS analysis consistently demonstrated that the EYRFBR treatment delivered optimal performance in yield and quality for winter and annual, while PRFNR achieved superior yield for summer maize. Consequently, in dryland maize–wheat double-cropping systems, an EYRFBR planting pattern should be recommended for high-yield and high-quality wheat production; however, the PRFNR planting pattern is more suitable for summer maize production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrient Management for Crop Production and Quality)
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28 pages, 5073 KB  
Article
Exploring the Potential of Nitrogen Fertilizer Mixed Application to Improve Crop Yield and Nitrogen Partial Productivity: A Meta-Analysis
by Yaya Duan, Yuanbo Jiang, Yi Ling, Wenjing Chang, Minhua Yin, Yanxia Kang, Yanlin Ma, Yayu Wang, Guangping Qi and Bin Liu
Plants 2025, 14(15), 2417; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14152417 - 4 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1402
Abstract
Slow-release nitrogen fertilizers enhance crop production and reduce environmental pollution, but their slow nitrogen release may cause insufficient nitrogen supply in the early stages of crop growth. Mixed nitrogen fertilization (MNF), combining slow-release nitrogen fertilizer with urea, is an effective way to increase [...] Read more.
Slow-release nitrogen fertilizers enhance crop production and reduce environmental pollution, but their slow nitrogen release may cause insufficient nitrogen supply in the early stages of crop growth. Mixed nitrogen fertilization (MNF), combining slow-release nitrogen fertilizer with urea, is an effective way to increase yield and income and improve nitrogen fertilizer efficiency. This study used urea alone (Urea) and slow-release nitrogen fertilizer alone (C/SRF) as controls and employed meta-analysis and a random forest model to assess MNF effects on crop yield and nitrogen partial factor productivity (PFPN), and to identify key influencing factors. Results showed that compared with urea, MNF increased crop yield by 7.42% and PFPN by 8.20%, with higher improvement rates in Northwest China, regions with an average annual temperature ≤ 20 °C, and elevations of 750–1050 m; in soils with a pH of 5.5–6.5, where 150–240 kg·ha−1 nitrogen with 25–35% content and an 80–100 day release period was applied, and the blending ratio was ≥0.3; and when planting rapeseed, maize, and cotton for 1–2 years. The top three influencing factors were crop type, nitrogen rate, and soil pH. Compared with C/SRF, MNF increased crop yield by 2.44% and had a non-significant increase in PFPN, with higher improvement rates in Northwest China, regions with an average annual temperature ≤ 5 °C, average annual precipitation ≤ 400 mm, and elevations of 300–900 m; in sandy soils with pH > 7.5, where 150–270 kg·ha−1 nitrogen with 25–30% content and a 40–80 day release period was applied, and the blending ratio was 0.4–0.7; and when planting potatoes and rapeseed for 3 years. The top three influencing factors were nitrogen rate, crop type, and average annual precipitation. In conclusion, MNF should comprehensively consider crops, regions, soil, and management. This study provides a scientific basis for optimizing slow-release nitrogen fertilizers and promoting the large-scale application of MNF in farmland. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrient Management for Crop Production and Quality)
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