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Strategies in Improving Plant Growth, Soil Fertility Status, and Microbial Community

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2023) | Viewed by 10132

Special Issue Editors

Dr. ‪Giancarlo Pagnani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Bioscience and Technologies for Food, Agriculture and Environment, University of Teramo, via Renato Balzarini 1, 64100 Teramo, Italy
Interests: sustainable agriculture; conservation agriculture; application of microbial bio fertilizing and bio stimulating substances; microbiology changes in agricultural soil; morphological, physiological, and qualitative responses of agronomic and food interest plant species
Dr. Marika Pellegrini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Interests: plant–soil–microbe interactions; sustainable agriculture; plant growth-promoting bacteria; bio stimulants; biocontrol agents; bioactive compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Debasis Mitra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Microbiology, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Dehradun 248002, Uttarakhand, India
Interests: plant microbe interactions; soil microbiology; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; environmental microbiology; microbial diversity; plant growth-promoting microbes; biocontrol; strigolactone
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Periyasamy Panneerselvam

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Microbiology, Crop Production Division, ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack 753006, Odisha, India
Interests: agricultural microbiology; environmental microbiology; plant microbe interactions; soil microbiology; arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; AMF-CO2; soil microbiome; microbial decomposition; composting; soil health; sustainability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Among the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, there is the promotion of sustainable agriculture, with a sound natural resources management. The sustainable use of soil includes the protection of organic matter contents and microbiota/microbiome, which are essential elements of soil fertility and the biogeochemical cycling of elements. These important components of soil are influenced by extrinsic factors such as geographic location, soil type, climate, and the presence of pathogenic organisms. The intrinsic properties of the soil (i.e., pH, organic matter, texture, and moisture) also have a powerful impact on organic matter contents and microbiota/microbiome and are strictly linked to agronomic practices.

Agricultural soil quality and fertility are threatened by conventional agriculture, which exploits soil resources to meet global food needs. Conversely, sustainable management practices (i.e., conservation agriculture, minimum tillage, and organic agriculture) improve and preserve soil quality and fertility. Cover crops, crop rotation, the application of sustainable fertilizers (e.g., biochar, microbial biofertilizers, biostimulants, and natural amendments), and the reduction of agrochemicals are strategies that improve the soil quality and fertility, shaping the microbial community and soil organic matter contents. These agronomic practices also have positive effects on crops, inducing resistance to biotic and abiotic stress in plants and improving food quality and security.

This Special Issue aims to show, in the current and historical context, how the adoption of these agronomic practices is fundamental to improving the growth and productivity of plants and to counteract the decrease in the fertility of agricultural soils and the consequent loss of microbial biodiversity.

We welcome contributions ranging from local studies to global perspectives on this topic, as well as reviews, communications, and concept papers.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Giancarlo Pagnani
Dr. Marika Pellegrini
Dr. Debasis Mitra
Dr. Periyasamy Panneerselvam
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • sustainable agriculture
  • conservation agriculture
  • minimum tillage
  • cover crops
  • sustainable fertilization
  • soil biodiversity
  • microbial community
  • microbial keystone species, soil fertility
  • microbial-enzymatic degradation, crop yield

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1580 KiB  
Article
Using Chromosomal Abnormalities and Germination Traits for the Assessment of Tritipyrum Amphiploid Lines under Seed-Aging and Germination Priming Treatments
by Mansour Taghvaei, Hamideh Maleki, Solmaz Najafi, Hossein Shahsavand Hassani, Younes Rezaee Danesh, Beatrice Farda and Loretta Pace
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9505; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129505 - 13 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1617
Abstract
Primary Trans Chromosomal Tritipyrum (PTCT) amphiploid is a new cereal grown in saline soil and brackish water for grain and forage production. We evaluated the tolerance to seed deterioration in 13 promising PTCT lines, assessing accelerated aging (AA) tests by using AA boxes [...] Read more.
Primary Trans Chromosomal Tritipyrum (PTCT) amphiploid is a new cereal grown in saline soil and brackish water for grain and forage production. We evaluated the tolerance to seed deterioration in 13 promising PTCT lines, assessing accelerated aging (AA) tests by using AA boxes with 100% relative humidity at 40 °C for 72 h. The (Ma/b)(Cr/b)F4 and (St/b)(Cr/b)F4) PTCT lines, more sensitive to seed aging, were primed with NaCl, Salicylic Acid (SA), and Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) to increase the seed vigor of artificially aged seeds. Germination and emergence traits, biochemical parameters, and chromosomal abnormalities induced by artificial aging were measured in deteriorated and not-deteriorated seeds. The highest reduction percentages related to seed vigor were observed in (Ka/b)(Cr/b)F2 (34.52) and La(4B,4D)/b (28.15) lines, while the lowest was found in (Ma/b)(Cr/b)F4 (7.65) and (St/b)(Cr/b)F4 (7.46) lines. Seed aging also increases electrolytes, potassium, and protein leakages. Chromosomal abnormalities are caused by seed aging that interferes with chromosome behaviors during cell division. Seed priming on aged seeds revealed an increase in the germination percentage (GP) with PEG treatment, while the priming by SA showed an increase in seedling traits, such as the seedling length (SL2). In conclusion, we highlighted the potential use of different PTCT lines and the effective use of seed priming on deteriorated seed to enhance seed viability and seedling vigor as a useful tool for sustainable agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies in Improving Plant Growth, Soil Fertility Status, and Microbial Community)
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15 pages, 3943 KiB  
Article
Nitrogen Fertilization Causes Changes in Agricultural Characteristics and Gas Emissions in Rice Field
by Jae-Ryoung Park, Yoon-Hee Jang, Eun-Gyeong Kim, Gang-Seob Lee and Kyung-Min Kim
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3336; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043336 - 11 Feb 2023
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4621
Abstract
Rice is a source of food for the majority of the global population. Currently, the rice yield is declining owing to extreme climate change. Farmers use nitrogen fertilizers to increase the yield; however, excessive nitrogen fertilizer application has a negative impact on plants [...] Read more.
Rice is a source of food for the majority of the global population. Currently, the rice yield is declining owing to extreme climate change. Farmers use nitrogen fertilizers to increase the yield; however, excessive nitrogen fertilizer application has a negative impact on plants and the environment. Nitrogen fertilizer is necessary for the growth of rice, but it is an important cause of environ-mental pollution. Carbon monoxide (CO) emitted from rice fields due to nitrogen fertilizer reacts with greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide or methane, affecting global warming. Although CO does not directly affect global warming, it is a gas that needs attention because it reacts with various other gases. In this study, a chamber was designed and manufactured to collect the CO emitted from the paddy field after nitrogen fertilizer application in 2021 and 2022. In paddy fields, nitrogen fertilizer treatment affected the pH, EC, and soil temperature, and affected various agricultural traits. Various agricultural characteristics and the number of spikes, number of tillers, and chlorophyll content increased with nitrogen fertilizer application, whereas the amylose content decreased. Adequate nitrogen fertilizer should be applied to increase the rice yield; however, excessive nitrogen fertilizer application has a serious negative effect on grain quality and can accelerate global warming by releasing CO from paddy fields. The appropriate application of nitrogen fertilizer can have a positive effect on farmers by increasing yield. However, caution should be exercised in the application of excessive nitrogen fertilizers, as excessive nitrogen fertilizers increase the emission of CO, which affects greenhouse gases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies in Improving Plant Growth, Soil Fertility Status, and Microbial Community)
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15 pages, 2283 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Evaluation of Soil Substrate Improvement Based on the Minimum Data Set Method
by Dong Tang, Jianjun Yang and Ping Cheng
Sustainability 2022, 14(7), 3939; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073939 - 26 Mar 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2416
Abstract
Long-term transitional grazing on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang has led to severe vegetation degradation, loss of self-renewal capacity and regional ecological degradation in the region. This study was conducted to improve the soil quality and vegetation restoration efficiency [...] Read more.
Long-term transitional grazing on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang has led to severe vegetation degradation, loss of self-renewal capacity and regional ecological degradation in the region. This study was conducted to improve the soil quality and vegetation restoration efficiency in the foreland zone of the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains (Xiangyataizi slope) using xanthic acid, bentonite, a green plant growth regulator (GGR) and high amounts of mulch as improvement materials, and eight sets of experiments were conducted. Fifteen physical and chemical indicators were selected as the total data set (TDS), and the minimum data set (MDS) was constructed using principal component analysis (PCA) combined with norm values to evaluate the soils in the study area by nonlinear (NL) and linear (L) evaluation methods. The results showed that the soil quality evaluation indexes of the MDS included effective phosphorus, organic matter, percentage of powder, total potassium and total salt for the Xiangyataizi slope of the Tianshan Mountains. The SQI was (p < 0.05). The Ⅵ treatment significantly improved soil quality; that is, plastic mulch applied to soil with 250 g of fulvic acid, 1000 g of bentonite and 15 g of GGR (mixed with 100 kg of water) was the best treatment. Additionally, since the nonlinear soil quality evaluation method (SQI-NL) had a smaller variation interval and coefficient of variation of the soil quality index compared with linear soil quality evaluation method (SQI-L), the coefficient of determination between the MDS and TDS was 0.873 and 0.811 under the SQI-NL and SQI-L evaluation methods, respectively. The nonlinear soil quality evaluation method had better applicability in this region, and the minimum data set was more accurate for soil quality evaluation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies in Improving Plant Growth, Soil Fertility Status, and Microbial Community)
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