Special Issue "Frontiers in Sustainable Agricultural Crop Production"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 November 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. James W. Muthomi
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection, University of Nairobi, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Interests: management of mycotoxins in cereals; legume diseases; and plant disease management
Dr. Alex M. Fulano
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection, University of Nairobi, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Interests: microbiology; microbe–host interactions; molecular biology; biopesticide-based IPM systems; antimicrobials; phytosanitation; food quality
Dr. Nancy Karimi Njeru
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Department of Crop Protection, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Interests: microbiology; food safety; food security; mycotoxin management; post-harvest losses

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The intensive crop production paradigm is characterized by increased global food production; and seemingly that was going to address the chronic threat of food insecurity. In the face of current felt realities of climate change, continued human population increase, and limited arable land, there is need to achieve increased crop productivity while conserving the environment. Conventional intensive crop production has focused on monocultures, intensive tillage, irrigation,  use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. This has resulted in destruction of the natural habitats, depletion of natural resources, reduced biodiversity, degraded soils, accumulation of toxic chemical residues in foods, salinization of irrigated fields, upsurge of pests and diseases, and unpredicted weather patterns. The resultant indicators have been increased cost of production, inefficiencies in food supply chains, decimated crop yields, increased food insecurity, reduced rural household incomes, and increased incidences of diseases associated with toxic chemical residues. Therefore, new approaches are required to integrate biological and ecological processes in agricultural production, reduce use of non-renewable inputs that have adverse effects on the environment, health of farmers and consumers. Sustainable agricultural crop production calls for a focus not only on genotype improvements but also improved understanding of the benefits of agro-ecological diversification and systems approach in crop production. The Special Issue titled “Frontiers in Sustainable Agricultural Crop Production” offers a forum where researchers, scholars and professionals in agriculture can share and disseminate knowledge, innovations and experiences on sustainable crop productions. The issue welcomes articles that showcase state- of-the-art practices and technological advancements in areas such as best-bet soil fertility management technologies, next-generation crop development, big-data driven precision agriculture, postharvest technologies, food supply chain management, enabling policies, and innovative approaches to sustainable crop pest management. Both research and review manuscripts will be welcome. Dissemination and sharing of the knowledge, innovations and experiences will contribute to sustainable crop production, improved resilience to climate change, improved water quality, healthy soils, biodiversity and a food secure world.  

Prof. James W. Muthomi
Dr. Alex M. Fulano
Dr. Nancy Karimi Njeru
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 papers will be 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 1900 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

  • agrobiodiversity
  • agro-ecological intensification
  • climate-smart agriculture
  • diversified cropping systems
  • ecological pest management
  • food secure world
  • safe food
  • food supply chain
  • sustainable agriculture

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
CO2 Utilization Strategy for Sustainable Cultivation of Mushrooms and Lettuces
Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5434; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105434 - 13 May 2021
Viewed by 469
Abstract
Mushroom cultivation generates a large amount of CO2 that can be used sustainably. The objective of this study was to use actual cultivation and simulation to find a sustainable cultivation method that uses the CO2 generated by king oyster mushrooms for [...] Read more.
Mushroom cultivation generates a large amount of CO2 that can be used sustainably. The objective of this study was to use actual cultivation and simulation to find a sustainable cultivation method that uses the CO2 generated by king oyster mushrooms for the production of romaine lettuces. A closed cultivation system consisting of one mushroom chamber, three lettuce chambers, and one gas-mixing chamber was used. Two cultivation conditions, non-continuous and continuous, were analyzed. The non-continuous system cultivated 15 lettuces and 12 mushroom bottles at a time every 25 and 16 days, respectively. The continuous system cultivated three lettuces and mushroom bottles every five and four days, respectively, so that each chamber contained mushrooms or lettuces at each growth stage. The CO2 concentrations in the lettuce and mushroom chambers were stably maintained above 1000 μmol∙mol−1 and below 2000 μmol∙mol−1 in the continuous system. Mathematical models were developed to analyze the CO2 concentration in each chamber. The shoot dry weight of lettuces grown in the mixed cultivation were 48.0%, 21.9%, 19.7%, and 18.1% at 10, 15, 20, and 25 days after transplanting, respectively, higher than those in the lettuce-only cultivation. Compared to mushroom-only cultivation, mixed cultivation reduced the accumulated CO2 emissions into the air by 80.6%. Thus, using CO2 from mushrooms to cultivate lettuce in a continuous cultivation system could reduce CO2 emissions into the air and enable mixed cultivation of mushrooms and lettuces, achieving sustainable agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Sustainable Agricultural Crop Production)
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