Search Results (639)

Globally, mycotoxin contamination of maize is a fundamental concern due to significant economic losses and toxic health effects on humans and animals. This study analyses the perceived effects of mycotoxin contamination and the use of control measures among smallholder maize farmers in South Africa using Mbombela as a case study. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to select 152 registered smallholder maize farmers in Mbombela, South Africa. Data was collected with a structured questionnaire administered by trained enumerators. Descriptive and multiple linear regression analyses were carried out using SPSS (Version 28). The findings revealed that many farmers had a high perception of the effects of mycotoxin contamination, and the most prominent prevention and control practices were good field management, storage of maize in clean, well-ventilated stores, and proper sorting of harvested grains. Multiple linear regression results revealed that farming experience, media exposure, extension visit, mycotoxin-related training, mycotoxin awareness, and perception index significantly influenced farmers’ utilization of mycotoxin prevention and control practices. The study recommended that agricultural professionals develop robust mycotoxin-related training and advisory services to enhance and strengthen farmers’ awareness and perceptions, and to promote the sustained use of effective agricultural practices to combat mycotoxin contamination. Full article

Hungary is experiencing more frequent and severe droughts due to climate change, with 60% of its arable land in the vulnerable Great Hungarian Plain. Drought events in 2012 and 2022 reduced maize yields by more than 50% in some regions. This review synthesizes studies (2000–2025) on remote sensing capabilities, climate change impacts, and farmer adaptation in Hungarian agriculture. Remote sensing technologies (Sentinel, Landsat, MODIS) and indices (NDVI, VCI, LST, TCI) achieve high accuracy (often >80%) in drought detection under validated conditions, yet technical and financial barriers limit uptake among smallholder farmers. Climate projections indicate that a 2 °C temperature rise by 2050 will expand drought-affected areas. Farmer adaptation varies sharply by farm size: large farms (>100 ha) adopt precision agriculture (65% uptake), while smallholders (<10 ha) rely on crop rotation and drought-resistant varieties. Although substantial support is provided through the EU Common Agricultural Policy, institutional fragmentation and weak extension services—which reach only 32% of farmers—undermine its effectiveness. Bridging this gap requires integrating accessible remote sensing tools with targeted smallholder support and reformed extension services. Full article

Enhancing both grain yield and water productivity (WP) under water scarcity is a critical challenge for sustainable maize production. Conventional farmer practices—characterized by low planting density (D₁: 9.0 × 10⁴ plants·ha⁻¹) and excessive irrigation (I₅)—often limit the potential for both. To advance the high-density production system enabled by precision stage-specific regulation (HD-PSR), we conducted a multi-region field experiment across arid to sub-humid climates in Xinjiang, China. Treatments included region-specific full irrigation (I₅) and four deficit levels (I₁–I₄, each reduced by 90 mm relative to I₅). Compared with the conventional model (D₁ + I₅), the HD-PSR-based optimized model (D₂, 12.0 × 10⁴ plants·ha⁻¹ plus regulated deficit irrigation, I_opt) synergistically increased grain yield by 18.8–25.0% and WP by 8.7–20.0% across sites, while saving 11.1–50.0% of irrigation water. This synergy was driven by improved canopy coverage and sustained dry matter accumulation under precision-regulated irrigation that maintained soil water storage at ~70% of field capacity, thereby reducing non-productive water losses (soil evaporation in arid/semi-arid areas and excessive transpiration in the semi-humid area). Our study provides a quantitative irrigation module for the HD-PSR and identifies a translatable soil water threshold (~70% FC) for sustainable intensification of maize in water-limited regions. Full article

This study assesses improved maize variety (IMV) adoption, as well as yield effects among smallholder farmers in Benue State, Nigeria, having implications for sustainable crop management and resource-use efficiency. Benue state is commonly known as the “Food Basket of the Nation,” but the average maize yield remains less than 2 t/ha, compared to 7–10 t/ha when achieved under improved technologies, and it shows a key sustainability challenge for food security and land-use efficiency. With primary cross-sectional survey data from 205 smallholder farmers with 107 adopters and 98 non-adopters, selected across Local Government Area (LGAs) in Benue State, this study adopts Propensity Score Matching (PSM) for controlling selection bias and estimating the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATET). Nearest Neighbour Matching acts as a primary estimator through robustness checks while using Radius and Kernel Matching. However, the logit model shows that IMV is greatly determined by gender, use of fertilizer, formal education, cooperative membership, access to irrigation, and extension contact, highlighting the crucial parts of human capital, complementary inputs, and institutional support in promoting sustainable adoption of technology. Following the control for observable differences across matching, a 0.399 log-unit yield gain was achieved by adopters, which is equivalent to approximately 49% higher output per hectare compared to non-adopters, an effect that is robust throughout alternative matching algorithms, and it surpasses the 38.7% national-level yield increase, indicating a regional sustainability premium in Benue State. The gains in productivity can promote land-use efficiency, decrease pressure for agricultural intensification on vulnerable lands, and enhance the case for integrated crop management. But adoption remains limited by access to quality seeds, complementary inputs, credit, and sustained gender barriers. Improving input supply chains, extension services, and institutional support is therefore crucial for developing productivity, resource-use efficiency, and food security across smallholder farming systems. Full article

The world has already been facing food, nutrition, and security challenges for the last few decades. The coronavirus 2019, COVID-19, has a significant impact on food security and agriculture, such as affecting food demand and the food supply chain, with the greatest consequences on the most vulnerable population. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the effects of COVID-19 on global agriculture and food security, drawing on recent scientific publications, institutional reports, and policy documents from 2020 to 2026. The review examines the impact of the pandemic on cropping patterns, fruit and vegetable harvests, availability of farm inputs, connectivity of the agricultural system, food supply chains, food demand, and labor availability. Vegetable and fruit markets were most affected due to the spread of COVID-19. Due to the closing of markets and restaurants, produce distributors and farmers were required to transfer supplies entirely from the food production to the marketplace. These effects are additionally being felt in agriculture and food security. Almost 55% of researchers indicated that COVID-19 has the most impact on agriculture and its complete harvest during the season, and an additional 45% stated that COVID-19 has adversely affected food security. However, food has slowed down well to date in numerous nations. The spread of COVID-19 is beginning to disrupt the supply of agricultural products and food to consumers and the marketplace across and within borders. The different spring crops, such as sunflower, canola, maize, barley, spring wheat, and various field vegetables, cannot be grown during COVID-19. Consequently, COVID-19 has had a binding effect on the food supply chain and agriculture due to the disruption, which the government should have addressed promptly. Full article

Excessive fertilizer use threatens soil quality and the sustainability of grain production, making improvements in fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) essential. This study examines how conservation tillage (CT) practices affect FUE in China’s wheat–maize rotation system using survey data from 1528 farm households in Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Shaanxi, and Shanxi provinces of China. We estimate FUE using stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and identify the treatment effects of tillage choices using a multinomial endogenous switching regression (MESR) model to correct for self-selection. Three tillage practices are compared: conventional rotary tillage with straw returning (CTS), no-tillage with straw returning (NTS), and deep tillage with straw returning (DTS). The results show that the average FUE of farmers in grain production in the sample area is 0.5045 and displays a bimodal distribution. Relative to CTS, NTS significantly improves farmers’ FUE, whereas DTS significantly reduces it. Mechanism analysis indicates that NTS improves FUE through both reduced fertilizer input and increased yield, while DTS mainly increases yield without reducing fertilizer input. Threshold analysis further shows that farm size conditions these effects. The findings suggest that CT policies should promote NTS more actively and apply DTS selectively according to farm size and local production conditions. Full article

Environmental degradation caused by unsustainable farming practices has depleted soil resources across sub-Saharan Africa. Conservation agriculture (CA) has been promoted to reverse this damage, yet outcomes remain variable, and the role of long-term training is underexplored. Using propensity score matching with 238 smallholder households across five communities in Ghana, we examine the impacts of long-term CA training. Specifically, we assess whether participation in a training program characterized by repeated engagement and follow-up workshops improves yields, farmer knowledge of soil health, and soil indicators (nitrogen and carbon). Farmers receiving long-term CA training did not exhibit significantly better soil chemical metrics. However, they demonstrated significantly more accurate knowledge of soil health (nitrogen, p < 0.001; carbon, p < 0.05), produced a 10.7% higher maize yield (kg/acre) (p < 0.001), and reported fewer soil problems, including fertilizer runoff, top-soil erosion, and waterlogging, compared to conventional farmers (all p < 0.05). We conclude that long-term CA training enhances farmer knowledge and maize yields, suggesting it is a critical intervention for improving productivity and farm management resilience, even where direct improvements in measured soil metrics are not immediately detectable. These findings highlight the need for training programs to emphasize the full suite of CA principles and for evaluation timeframes of 5–10 years to capture soil regeneration. Full article

In this study, the sustainability of maize production with farmer’s practice (FP) and with redesigned plant density and fertilizer use were assessed at a household level based on social, agronomic, economic, and environmental principles. Farmers’ preference, household grain (maize) self-sufficiency, gross margin, and nitrogen use efficiency were used as indicators for social, agronomic, economic, and environmental principles, respectively. The results revealed that the preference of redesigned density and redesigned fertilizer use (RDRF) was 95% and 100% in CRV and Jimma, respectively, whereas the preference of FP was 45% and 20% in the respective regions. With all production technologies, farmers in both regions could achieve their family grain self-sufficiency. The grain self-sufficiency in CRV was 2.47 t household⁻¹ year⁻¹ whereas in Jimma, the grain self-sufficiency was 1.77 t household⁻¹ year⁻¹. In CRV, RDRF, redesigned density and current fertilizer (RDCF), and current density redesigned fertilizer (CDRF) were economically viable. However, in Jimma, less than 50% of households profited from RDRF and CDRF. In CRV, maize production using all crop management practices was associated with soil mining, whereas in Jimma, the use of RDRF resulted in 18% environmental sustainability. It is concluded that producing maize with RDRF is sustainable from social, agronomic, and economic perspectives whereas producing maize with FP is sustainable only from the agronomic dimension. Further redesigning maize management practices is of paramount important for achieving economic and environmental sustainability dimensions in CRV and Jimma in Ethiopia. Full article

Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), has emerged as one of the most damaging invasive pests affecting maize production and household food security across sub-Saharan Africa since its first detection in 2016. This systematic review synthesizes empirical evidence published between 2016 and 2025 to assess the agronomic, livelihood, and food security impacts of FAW on smallholder farming systems across Eastern, Southern, Western, and Central Africa. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Time, and Setting (PICOTS) framework, 20 studies (17 empirical and 3 contextual) were identified through comprehensive searches of academic databases and institutional repositories and were included in the final synthesis after methodological screening. The evidence indicates that FAW invasion causes substantial maize yield losses ranging from approximately 20% to 50%, with the greatest reductions reported in rain-fed systems with limited access to pest management technologies. Infestation rates frequently exceeded 50%, particularly during early invasion phases. Beyond agronomic losses, several studies reported reduced household income, constrained food availability, and livelihood disruptions, including increased labor requirements, higher production costs, and reliance on short-term coping strategies. Only a small proportion of studies (n = 4) directly assessed nutrition-related indicators, but the available evidence indicates declines in dietary diversity in severely affected communities. Overall, the agronomic impacts of FAW are consistently documented across regions, whereas the socioeconomic and nutrition outcomes remain comparatively underreported, indicating a significant evidence gap. These findings highlight FAW as both an agronomic and livelihood challenge, underscoring the need for integrated pest management strategies, strengthened extension services, and coordinated policy responses to safeguard food and income security among smallholder farmers in Africa. Full article

Climate change presents significant challenges to agriculture worldwide, leading to food insecurity and impacting rural livelihoods. Maize farming is especially vulnerable to extreme weather, such as heavy rainfall, high temperatures, soil acidity, humidity, and poor irrigation, which reduce crop yields and raise concerns about food security. The study aimed to develop a reliable and accurate machine learning method to predict maize crop yields using historical climate data to facilitate decision-making. This allows farmers and agronomists to forecast maize production based on past data for adaptation. A dataset from Meteo Rwanda and maize yield data from the Kayonza district, Rwanda, were used for training and testing. The weather data included annual mean temperature, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, rainfall, and soil temperature over the past thirteen years. The data were analyzed using machine learning techniques such as Random Forest regressor, Extreme Boost regressor, Gradient, Support Vector Machine, and LASSO (Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator). The results show that developing a high-yield crop depends on predicting and integrating climate variables, especially temperature and rainfall. Overall, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and Extreme Boost outperformed LASSO, with R² values of 0.957, 0.955, and 0.953, compared to 0.256 for LASSO. Full article

Water conservation and grain yield improvement are primary objectives for sustainable agricultural development in arid and semi-arid regions. Variety selection, planting density, and irrigation management represent crucial agronomic practices that regulate root–crown growth and grain yield in maize. A two-year field experiment was carried out from 2021 to 2022 in Tongliao, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Two widely cultivated maize varieties, DK159 and ZD958, were used as test materials. Two planting densities were designed: 60,000 plants ha⁻¹ (D1, local farmers’ conventional density) and 90,000 plants ha⁻¹ (D2). Five irrigation levels were established: 450 mm (I5, local farmers’ practice, CK), 360 mm (I4), 270 mm (I3), 180 mm (I2), and 90 mm (I1). We investigated the interactive effects of variety, planting density, and irrigation amount on dry matter accumulation pre- and post-silking, root spatial distribution characteristics, and the coordination mechanism of root–shoot growth in maize under shallow-buried drip irrigation. The results indicated that grain yield under DK159 was 5.37–6.69% higher than that under ZD958, and the yield under D2 was 13.32–15.89% higher than that under D1. At the D1 density, no significant difference in grain yield was observed between I2 and I5, with yields ranging from 12.90 to 13.92 t ha⁻¹. At the D2 density, grain yield under I3 was statistically similar to that under I5, ranging from 15.54 to 17.39 t ha⁻¹. Compared with local farmers’ conventional planting density and full irrigation regime, increasing planting density and reducing irrigation amount altered the vertical root distribution of maize. The proportion of roots distributed in the 0–20 cm topsoil layer decreased, while appropriate water deficit markedly increased root proportion in the 40–60 cm subsoil layer. Increasing planting density and moderately reducing irrigation effectively promoted pre- and post-silking dry matter accumulation while maintaining a high harvest index (HI). At silking stage, the root–shoot ratio increased initially and then stabilized with increasing irrigation amount. At maturity, the root–shoot ratio gradually decreased and tended to be stable as irrigation increased. Therefore, the adoption of water-efficient maize varieties, combined with appropriately increased planting density and optimized irrigation regimes, can coordinate root–shoot relationships in the early growth period, facilitate early root establishment and late-stage nutrient accumulation, and thus improve maize yield. Under the conditions of shallow-buried drip irrigation in the supplementary irrigation area of the West Liaohe Plain, the adoption of water-saving maize varieties, appropriately increased planting density, and optimized irrigation regimes can coordinate the developmental relationship between root and above-ground growth, promote early root development and late-stage nutrient accumulation, and thereby simultaneously increase maize grain yield. These results provide practical theoretical and technical references for achieving high-yield and water-saving maize production under similar ecological conditions. Full article

In southern Brazil, a large proportion of farmers maintain their fields under fallow conditions during the transition period between summer and winter crops. During this interval, mechanical practices such as chiseling or the introduction of cover crop species may contribute to improving soil management and conservation in no-tillage systems. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of mechanical soil chiseling and production system intensification on soil physical–hydric properties and soybean performance. The experiment was conducted in São José do Ouro, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from September 2023 to April 2025. The experimental design consisted of three factors: soil management (spring 2023 chiseling, autumn 2024 chiseling, and a no-till control), post-maize cover (millet and fallow conditions), and winter cover crops (black oat, white oat, vetch, and radish) grown either as monocultures or in mixtures. A randomized block design with split plots and three replicates was used. The evaluated variables included dry biomass of winter cover crops, soil bulk density, total porosity, microporosity, macroporosity, soil water content at field capacity, soil penetration resistance, plant gas exchange, leaf area index, thousand-grain weight, and soybean grain yield. The results indicated that soil chiseling altered soil physical properties by reducing soil bulk density, penetration resistance, microporosity, and field capacity, while increasing total porosity and macroporosity. Soil chiseling promoted short-term increases in thousand-grain weight and soybean grain yield, with no persistent effects after 20 months. Production system intensification, through the use of cover crops and millet, did not affect grain yield but increased stomatal conductance and soybean leaf area index. Therefore, occasional tillage in high-clay subtropical Oxisols should be strategically applied and associated with long-term conservation agriculture practices to sustain improvements in soil physical quality. Full article

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a significant staple food crop in the developing world. Despite its significance, diseases and pests are limiting its supply. Farmers have primarily relied on synthetic chemicals as control measures; however, these chemicals are harmful to humans, animals, and the environment and exacerbate pest recurrence. Medicinal plants have shown promising potential as alternative pest- and disease-controlling agents, offering an economical, sustainable, biodegradable, and cost-effective approach. This review article synthesises phytochemical, ethnobotanical, and experimental data from relevant peer-reviewed papers published across various years to identify medicinal plants. Thirty-one unique plant families have been identified and have been used to control pests and diseases of maize. Some families represented both antifungal and insecticidal applications. Medicinal plants such as Senna obtusifolia, Euphorbia balsamifera, Aristolochia ringens, Allium sativum, Azadirachta indica, Carica papaya, Moringa oleifera, and Ficus exasperata have shown antifungal and insecticidal properties, primarily under laboratory conditions. Most of the evidence is derived from laboratory studies, with only limited validation in real field conditions and with limited evaluation of safety for non-target organisms. Furthermore, this review highlighted the extraction methods, solvents used, plant parts, major active ingredients, and mode of action. Future prospects for integrating ethnobotanical knowledge with contemporary scientific methods to optimise biopesticide production are also discussed, along with the challenges of standardisation, formulation, and commercialisation. Full article

The Souss-Massa basin, one of Morocco’s major agricultural regions, is increasingly affected by water scarcity and climatic stress. However, the long-term interactions between hydro-climatic change and farmers’ cropping system adjustments remain insufficiently documented. This study analyzes hydro-climatic trends and agricultural transformations over the period 1995–2021. The methodology combines statistical trend analysis of meteorological data (Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator), diachronic land use/land cover mapping using Google Earth Engine, Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) assessment, and groundwater piezometric analysis. Results reveal declining and highly variable precipitation, together with a significant warming trend reaching +0.116 °C/year. In parallel, cultivated cereal areas (rainfed and irrigated) declined, while irrigated forage crops expanded, particularly Berseem/Maize. Despite increasing aridity, CWSI results indicate maintained crop vigor in irrigated areas, suggesting growing dependence on groundwater extraction. These findings highlight an ongoing agricultural transition that increases pressure on already vulnerable water resources and underscores the need for integrated climate adaptation and groundwater management strategies in the basin. Full article

With increasing water scarcity and growing food demand, enhancing agricultural productivity has become a pressing necessity, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Maize is a strategic crop, yet under surface irrigation, modern technologies are required to optimize irrigation efficiency and reduce water losses. Two field trials were conducted during the summer seasons of 2024 and 2025 on a private farm in Banha, Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt, using a three-replication split-block design. This study evaluated three land slopes (0, 0.05, and 0.15%) and two furrow lengths (50 and 75 m) under furrow irrigation in clay loam soil, using the maize hybrid “Single Cross 2036.” The results demonstrated that both furrow length and land slope significantly affected all measured parameters. Shorter furrows (50 m) consistently outperformed longer ones (75 m), achieving better growth parameters, higher grain yield, improved harvest index, and enhanced irrigation water productivity. Regarding land slope, the 0.15% slope produced the best results, although it was not significantly different from the 0.05% slope in most cases. The interaction between furrow length and land slope was significant; the combination of 50 m furrows with 0.15% slope produced the highest values across all parameters. For longer furrows (75 m), the gentler 0.05% slope was more effective than the steeper 0.15% slope. Notably, 50 m furrows, even with 0% slope, performed better than 75 m furrows with the optimal 0.05% slope, indicating that furrow length is more critical than slope for maximizing maize productivity in clay loam soils. Economic analysis confirmed these findings, with the combination of 50 m furrows and 0.15% slope achieving the highest net return (29,565 EGP ha⁻¹) and revenue-to-cost ratio (1.38), representing a substantial increase in net profit compared to traditional practices. Therefore, a 0.15% slope is recommended for shorter furrows (50 m), while a gentler 0.05% slope is more suitable for longer furrows (75 m). These findings provide a practical pathway for policymakers and farmers to enhance resource efficiency and contribute to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). Full article