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Plants
Special Issues
Water and Nitrogen Management in Soil–Crop Systems—4th Edition
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Water and Nitrogen Management in Soil–Crop Systems—4th Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2026 | Viewed by 1068

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Puyu Feng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Interests: agrometeorology; sustainable agriculture; climate change impacts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Kelin Hu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
Interests: C and N cycling; soil physical processes; crop modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water and nitrogen (N) fertilizer play an important role in improving crop yield and quality in agricultural production. With the increase in agricultural water consumption and N fertilization, water shortages and environmental pollution caused by N losses have become common issues around the world. Therefore, it is essential that we promote crop productivity while minimizing negative environmental impacts. For this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles, technology reports, methods, opinions, perspectives, and solicited reviews and mini-reviews on water and N management in soil–crop systems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) the effects of different water and N management practices on crop yield, N fate, and water and N use efficiencies; (2) optimized irrigation practices, cropping systems, and agronomic strategies for improving water use efficiency and crop productivity; (3) innovative and novel N fertilizer application technologies, such as 4R technology (right source, right rate, right time, right place) and fertigation techniques for field or facility crops; (4）modeling water and N processes in soil–crop systems and related decision-making processes; (5）water and N management in addressing climate change impacts.

Dr. Puyu Feng
Prof. Dr. Kelin Hu
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

  • crop yield
  • cropping system
  • irrigation scheduling
  • irrigation method
  • water use efficiency
  • nitrogen management
  • nitrogen losses
  • nitrogen use efficiency
  • modeling
  • decision-making
  • climate change

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 8621 KB  
Article
Comparative Study on Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal Efficiency and Rhizosphere Microbial Mechanisms of Six Wetland Plants in Eutrophic Water
by Haoliang Cheng, Jingjing He, Xuan Zhang, Yongwen Huang and Wen Jiang
Plants 2026, 15(9), 1346; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15091346 - 28 Apr 2026
Viewed by 187
Abstract
To address the limited understanding of interspecific differences in eutrophic-water remediation, six representative wetland plants—Myriophyllum spicatum, Oenanthe javanica, Zizania latifolia, Ipomoea aquatica, Iris pseudacorus, and Typha orientalis—were evaluated in a unified hydroponic system. The removal efficiencies [...] Read more.
To address the limited understanding of interspecific differences in eutrophic-water remediation, six representative wetland plants—Myriophyllum spicatum, Oenanthe javanica, Zizania latifolia, Ipomoea aquatica, Iris pseudacorus, and Typha orientalis—were evaluated in a unified hydroponic system. The removal efficiencies of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) were compared together with plant biomass accumulation and root-associated and fepiphytic microbial community characteristics. The results showed marked interspecific differences in growth and pollutant removal, with the M. spicatum treatment exhibiting the highest overall purification performance, achieving removal rates of 83.3% for NH4+-N, 87.3% for TN, and 78.6% for TP after 42 days. Community-composition analysis suggested that the superior purification performance of M. spicatum was associated with a greater relative abundance of Proteobacteria and putative nitrogen- and phosphorus-cycling bacterial groups. By integrating a plant-free control with a side-by-side comparison of six wetland plants under identical hydroponic conditions, this study establishes a comparative framework linking nutrient removal to plant growth and microbial community assembly. Overall, M. spicatum was identified as the most promising species, providing new insight for wetland-plant selection and eutrophic-water remediation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water and Nitrogen Management in Soil–Crop Systems—4th Edition)
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21 pages, 3011 KB  
Article
Optimal Nitrogen Application Strategies for Alfalfa Under Different Precipitation Patterns: Balancing Yield, Nitrogen Fertilizer Use Efficiency, and Soil Nitrogen Residue
by Yanbiao Wang, Yuanbo Jiang, Haiyan Li, Boda Li, Jinxi Chen, Minhua Yin, Yanxia Kang, Guangping Qi, Yanlin Ma, Bojie Xie, Haoxiang Jin, Tongjin Wu and Shan Li
Plants 2026, 15(2), 333; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15020333 - 22 Jan 2026
Viewed by 484
Abstract
Rational nitrogen applications can not only improve nutrient use efficiency, but also reduce environmental pollution caused by nitrogen leaching. To explore reasonable nitrogen application strategies for synergistically enhancing alfalfa production and ecological benefits, this study calibrated and validated the APSIM–Lucerne model based on [...] Read more.
Rational nitrogen applications can not only improve nutrient use efficiency, but also reduce environmental pollution caused by nitrogen leaching. To explore reasonable nitrogen application strategies for synergistically enhancing alfalfa production and ecological benefits, this study calibrated and validated the APSIM–Lucerne model based on field experiments conducted from 2021 to 2023. The effects of nitrogen application levels of 0, 80, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, and 240 kg/ha on alfalfa yield, soil NO3−–N and NH4+–N residues, and nitrogen use efficiency under dry, normal, and wet years were simulated. The results indicate: (1) The calibrated APSIM–Lucerne model effectively simulates alfalfa yield and soil nitrogen residuals (R2 ranging from 0.67 to 0.91, NRMSE between 6.55% and 24.03%). (2) Increased nitrogen application significantly elevates soil nitrogen residue, yet alfalfa yield follows a pattern of initial increase followed by decline, with nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency continuously decreasing. Under identical nitrogen application rates, the wet year type proves more advantageous for achieving high yields, low nitrogen residue, and high nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency. (3) The nitrogen application thresholds for achieving increased alfalfa yields and high efficiency during dry years, normal years, and wet years are 107–140 kg/ha, 135–160 kg/ha, and 150–183 kg/ha, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water and Nitrogen Management in Soil–Crop Systems—4th Edition)
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