Search Results (122)

Urbanization is causing a decrease in agricultural land. This leads to changes in cropping patterns, irrigation water availability, and water allowance. Therefore, change in cropping pattern, irrigation water availability, and water allowance were investigated in the Multan region of Pakistan using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The multi-temporal Landsat images with 30 m resolution were acquired for both Rabi (winter) and Kharif (summer) seasons for the years of 1988, 1999 and 2020. The image processing tasks including layer stacking, sub-setting, land use/land cover (LULC) classification, and accuracy assessment were performed using ERDAS Imagine (2015) software. The LULC maps showed a considerable shift of orchard area to urban settlements and other crops. About 82% of orchard areas have shifted to urban settlements and other crops from 1988 to 2020. The LULC maps for Kharif season indicated that cropped areas for cotton have decreased by 42.5% and the cropped areas for rice have increased by 718% in the last 32 years (1988–2020). During the rabi season, the cropped areas for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) have increased by 27% from 1988 to 2020. The irrigation water availability and water allowance have increased up to 125 and 110% due to decrease in agricultural land, respectively. The overall average accuracies were found as 87 and 89% for Rabi and Kharif crops, respectively. The LULC mapping technique may be used to develop a decision support system for evaluating the changes in cropping pattern and their impacts on net water availability and water allowances. Full article

The use of service (cover) crops is widely practiced in soil agriculture due to their many benefits, including enhanced nutrient supply and improved soil health. Bacteria, as major decomposers of plant residues in the soil, play essential roles in nutrient cycling. This study examined the impact of various almond orchard management practices on the soil microbial community composition in a hyper-arid ecosystem. High-throughput sequencing was used to compare the microbial communities in two adjacent almond orchards managed with either organic (ORG) or regenerative agriculture (RA) practices, alongside an uncultivated (UC) site. Notably, little is known about the responses of soil bacterial communities in hyper-arid regions to intercrop mulch from service crops. This study may offer insights into the ecological limits of the benefits of service crops in promoting soil health under extreme conditions. Our findings demonstrate that RA management can alter soil organic carbon levels and reshape microbial communities by increasing overall bacterial abundance and enriching specific keystone taxa. These changes may have significant implications for nutrient cycling processes in hyper-arid agroecosystems. Full article

Orchard cover crops enhance the local microclimate and soil fertility, serving as an eco-friendly, efficient management practice. However, the effects of different cultivated species and planting patterns on plant growth and soil properties remain unclear. In this study, we hypothesized that different cultivated species and planting patterns would differently affect root growth and soil biochemistry. Therefore, the root growth, soil nutrients, and soil metabolites in an orchard planted with Vulpia myuros, Vicia villosa, Orychophragmus violaceus, and Brassica campestris in either a tree-disk or inter-row patterns were conducted. The results indicated that the tree-disk pattern promoted root development. This increase in below-ground biomass contributed to changes in soil nutrient dynamics, with a significant biomass accumulation observed for Orychophragmus violaceus. While the inter-row pattern improved soil aeration and was conducive to aboveground plant growth. The tree-disk pattern with Vicia villosa and Brassica campestris increased the total phosphorus (TP) and total potassium (TK) in the 0–10 cm layer. The soil NH₄⁺-N and NO₃⁻-N contents were higher under the tree-disk pattern than under the inter-row pattern with Brassica campestris, whereas the opposite effect was seen with Vulpia myuros. Overall, we recommend planting Orychophragmus violaceus in a tree-disk pattern and Vulpia myuros in an inter-row pattern to promote plant biomass accumulation and soil nutrient increases in orchards. Our study provides a basis for the selection of orchard-cultivated species and planting patterns to promote the sustainable development of the fruit industry. Full article

The experiment aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using high doses of nitrogen (N) and delaying the sowing of living mulch in the apple tree (Malus domestica Borkh.) orchard as factors stimulating tree growth and influencing fruit quality. Blue fescue (Festuca ovina L.), as a cover crop, was sown in the tree rows in the second and fourth year after tree planting. It was compared to herbicide fallow control treatment. In each floor management, four N doses (50, 80, 110, and 140 kg ha⁻¹) were used every year. The study indicated the dominance of living mulch, especially sowing in the second year after tree planting as a factor influencing the reduction in growth and yield but improving the red blush surface on the fruit skin. The growth of trees was also strongly influenced by biotic and abiotic stress factors, which did not allow for a clear assessment of N fertilization. With objectively low cropping levels and poor growth of all trees tested in the experiment, their N needs were satisfied by a dose of 50 kg ha⁻¹. The application of the highest dose of 140 kg N ha⁻¹ had a significant and negative impact on the red color of the fruit skin. Full article

Soil mulching practices in apple orchards offer an effective solution to combat declining soil quality, restore land productivity, and boost apple yield. The kinetic parameters of soil enzymes, specifically the maximum reaction rate (V_max) and the Michaelis constant (K_m), are critical indicators of enzyme activity, while the temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) reflects the thermal stability of the enzymatic reaction system. However, the effects of different mulching practices on soil enzyme kinetic parameters and their temperature sensitivity remain poorly understood, and there is no consensus regarding the most effective mulching strategies for soil conservation. To address this gap, we focused on a typical apple orchard ecosystem in the Loess Plateau region and investigated the responses of soil enzyme kinetic parameters and their temperature sensitivity to various mulching practices, including different cover materials, grass species for cover crops, and cover duration. Our results show that, among the mulching practices, both ryegrass (RE) and maize straw significantly enhanced the maximum enzyme catalytic reaction rates (V_max) and catalytic efficiency (K_cat) of β-glucosidase (BG), N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). In contrast, black fabric (BF) reduced the temperature sensitivity of the enzyme system by decreasing V_max and K_cat. Among the grass species used for cover, crown vetch (CV) had the most pronounced effect on V_max, while long-term grass cover was more effective in improving the nutrient utilisation capacity of the soil enzyme system. Overall, maize straw and long-term grass cover were found to be the most effective in enhancing the soil enzyme system’s ability to decompose and utilise substrates efficiently. This study identifies soil nutrients as key factors influencing the temperature sensitivity of enzyme kinetics. Our findings provide a scientific basis for developing and applying orchard conservation practices and offer technical support for selecting and promoting soil management strategies that improve soil quality and contribute to the sustainable development of the apple industry in the Loess Plateau. Full article

Soil health is essential for sustainable agriculture, influencing ecosystem health and orchard productivity of plum orchards. Global challenges such as climate change and soil contamination threaten to affect fertility and food security, requiring sustainable practices. The study assessed the effect of different orchard management practices on soil quality and nutrient distribution in Prunus domestica L. orchard located on the Moldavian Plateau in northeastern Romania under temperate humid subtropical climate conditions. Two systems were analyzed: conventional (herbicide-based) and conservative (cover crop-based). Soil samples (0–20 cm and 20–40 cm) were analyzed for soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (N_t), available phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Results showed that conservative management improved soil health by increasing SOC nutrient cycling, mainly through organic matter inputs. Compared to 2022, the effectiveness of phosphorus in the conservative management system significantly increased (by 6%) in 2023, while potassium content decreased (by 30%), suggesting potential nutrient competition or insufficient replenishment under organic practices. SOC levels remained stable, supporting long-term carbon inputs. Conventional management maintained phosphorus and potassium but showed lower SOC levels and higher risks of soil fertility depletion. Strong correlations between SOC and nutrient indicators emphasize the critical role of organic inputs in nutrient mobilization. The findings indicate that cover crops are essential for sustainable soil management by enhancing carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling, thereby supporting the long-term sustainability of agricultural systems. Full article

Mango (Mangifera Indica L.), a key horticultural crop, particularly in Pakistan, has been primarily studied locally using low- to medium-resolution satellite imagery, usually focusing on a particular phenological stage. The large canopy size, complex tree structure, and unique phenology of mango trees further accentuate intrinsic challenges posed by low-spatiotemporal-resolution data. The absence of mango-specific vegetation indices compounds the problem of accurate health classification and yield estimation at the tree level. To overcome these issues, this study utilizes high-resolution multi-spectral UAV imagery collected from two mango orchards in Multan, Pakistan, throughout the annual phenological cycle. It introduces MangiSpectra, an integrated two-staged framework based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks. In the first stage, nine conventional and three mango-specific vegetation indices derived from UAV imagery were processed through fine-tuned LSTM networks to classify the health of individual mango trees. In the second stage, associated data such as the trees’ age, variety, canopy volume, height, and weather data were combined with predicted health classes for yield estimation through a decision tree algorithm. Three mango-specific indices, namely the Mango Tree Yellowness Index (MTYI), Weighted Yellowness Index (WYI), and Normalized Automatic Flowering Detection Index (NAFDI), were developed to measure the degree of canopy covered by flowers to enhance the robustness of the framework. In addition, a Cumulative Health Index (CHI) derived from imagery analysis after every flight is also proposed for proactive orchard management. MangiSpectra outperformed the comparative benchmarks of AdaBoost and Random Forest in health classification by achieving 93% accuracy and AUC scores of 0.85, 0.96, and 0.92 for the healthy, moderate and weak classes, respectively. Yield estimation accuracy was reasonable with $R^2=0.21$, and $\mathrm{RMSE}=50.18$. Results underscore MangiSpectra’s potential as a scalable precision agriculture tool for sustainable mango orchard management, which can be improved further by fine-tuning algorithms using ground-based spectrometry, IoT-based orchard monitoring systems, computer vision-based counting of fruit on control trees, and smartphone-based data collection and insight dissemination applications. Full article

In the transitional region between agriculture and livestock rearing in northern China, planting forage crops in rows among fruit trees as feed in orchards represents an effective strategy for enhancing the ecological environment while addressing the increasing demand for livestock feed. Nonetheless, the impact of short-term mowing of cover forage crops for livestock feed on the quality of soil remains unclear. A two-year field experiment was conducted in Ziziphus jujuba cv. “Lingwuchangzao” orchards located in Lingwu County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, in arid and semi-arid Northwest China. The experiment consisted of four treatments: (A) clean tillage (CK), (B) plantation with Lolium perenne (LP), (C) plantation with Trifolium repens (TR), and (D) plantation with Vicia villosa (VV).The results showed that short-term intercropping of forage crops may lead to a reduction in most soil nutrients in Z. jujuba cv. “Lingwuchangzao” orchards, particularly in the 0–20 cm soil layer. However, intercropping with TR can mitigate this declining trend and may even enhance nutrient levels within the 0–40 cm depth. Furthermore, intercropping of forage crops had a more pronounced effect on the α-diversity of fungal communities than on bacterial communities. This practice also altered the relative abundance of bacterial genera such as Sphingomonas, Bacillus, and Flavobacterium in the 20–40 cm depth and dominant fungal genera Fusarium and Mortierella in the 0–20 cm soil layer. The effects of soil physicochemical properties on bacterial communities were more significant than those on fungal communities.These results indicate that the short-term intercropping of forage crops in Z. jujuba cv. “Lingwuchangzao” orchards in arid and semi-arid Northwest China have varying impacts depending on the type of forage crop used. Full article

The cultivation of Japanese plums (Prunus salicina Lindl.) in South Africa has increased over the years, yet their water use is unknown. Their cultivation in the Western Cape Province of South Africa is highly dependent on supplementary irrigation, indicating their high water use demand. This study used remote sensing techniques to estimate the actual evapotranspiration (ET_{c act}) of the Japanese plums to assess their water use on a large scale. The accuracy of the procedure had to be validated before getting to tangible conclusions. The eddy covariance was used to measure ET_c act in an African Delight plum orchard to validate the FruitLook remote sensing data for the 2023–2024 hydrological year and irrigation season. The seasonal and annual plum crop water requirements measured using the eddy covariance system were 751 and 996 mm, while those estimated by FruitLook were 744 and 948 mm, respectively. Although FruitLook slightly underestimated plum ET_{c act} by a Pbias of −6.15%, it performed well with a Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.91. FruitLook underestimated evapotranspiration mainly during the peak summer season with full vegetation cover when the model may inaccurately represent irrigation impacts, soil moisture availability, and localized advection effects, better captured by the eddy covariance system. Based on the results, FruitLook proved to be sufficiently accurate for large-scale applications to estimate evapotranspiration in Japanese plum orchards in the Western Cape. Full article

Pecan is an important nut crop in the United States. It is native to North America and dominantly produced in the southern states in the US. Nitrogen and zinc are two of the most critical nutrients for pecan production. This review provides a comprehensive overview of nitrogen and zinc fertilizer management in pecan orchards, covering key topics such as nitrogen sources, nitrogen application rates, the timing of nitrogen application, nitrogen application of damaged trees, the impact of zinc deficiency, and methods for zinc application. The deficiency of these nutrients causes severe loss in pecan production. However, the cost involving nutrient application and post the effect of excessive application on the soil and environment is of serious discussion. This review summarizes nitrogen and zinc management strategy and explores application methods that can reduce the cost of fertilizer with minimal adverse effect on the soil and environment. Also, this review sheds light on the areas that needs extensive research in nutrient management in pecan production. Full article

The increasing demand for hazelnut kernels is favoring an upsurge in hazelnut cultivation worldwide, but ongoing climate change threatens this crop, affecting yield decreases and subject to uncontrolled pathogen and parasite attacks. Technical advances in precision agriculture are expected to support farmers to more efficiently control the physio-pathological status of crops. Here, we report a straightforward approach to monitoring hazelnut trees in an open field, using aerial multispectral pictures taken by drones. A dataset of 4112 images, each having 2Mpixel resolution per tree and covering RGB, Red Edge, and near-infrared frequencies, was obtained from 185 hazelnut trees located in two different orchards of the Piedmont region (northern Italy). To increase accuracy, and especially to reduce false negatives, the image of each tree was divided into nine quadrants. For each quadrant, nine different vegetation indices (VIs) were computed, and in parallel, each tree quadrant was tagged as “healthy/unhealthy” by visual inspection. Three supervised binary classification algorithms were used to build models capable of predicting the status of the tree quadrant, using the VIs as predictors. Out of the nine VIs considered, only five (GNDVI, GCI, NDREI, NRI, and GI) were good predictors, while NDVI SAVI, RECI, and TCARI were not. Using them, a model accuracy of about 65%, with 13% false negatives was reached in a way that was rather independent of the algorithms, demonstrating that some VIs allow inferring the physio-pathological condition of these trees. These achievements support the use of drone-captured images for performing a rapid, non-destructive physiological characterization of hazelnut trees. This approach offers a sustainable strategy for supporting farmers in their decision-making process during agricultural practices. Full article

The use of rain shelters is a promising agronomic practice to protect crops from rainfall, reducing the need for fungicides to control certain pathogens that take advantage of leaf wetness. However, the combined condition of absence of rain and reduced fungicide schedule can affect the fungal populations, possibly favoring biocontrol agents and/or other pathogens. In this study, the effects this practice on epiphytic and endophytic fungal communities associated with barks, leaves, flowers, and fruits of two apple cultivars (Fuji and Golden Delicious) were evaluated across two seasons. Apple plants were grown under two conditions in a commercial-like orchard: (1) covered by rain shelters with reduced fungicide schedule and (2) uncovered with standard integrated pest management (IPM) schedule. The use of rain shelters combined with reduced fungicide applications affects the overall fungal community structure and their abundance of specific taxa. Leaf epiphytes were the most impacted community, and fungal communities also differed between the two apple cultivars. The use of rain shelters helped reduce fungicide input in the orchard, but it increased the abundance of potential pathogens compared to the IPM in open field conditions, such as powdery mildew and apple scab. Understanding how the plant microbiome responds to new practices that help in reducing fungicides can help developing strategies that avoid the build-up of potentially new pathogens. Full article

The planting of inter-row cover vegetation has long been practised in Western European fruit-growing regions, yet research in this area remains limited in many countries. With the rise of organic farming, the role and selection of inter-row cover species are becoming increasingly important. Proper species selection enhances weed control and promotes biodiversity, supporting flowering plants and beneficial insects in orchards. The six-year research aimed to develop a multi-species, perennial, multifunctional inter-row cover species mixture for a dry continental climate, which is suitable for soil protection and the displacement of heat-loving, drought-tolerant, invasive weed species. There was another expectation for this native seed mixture to be able to regenerate spontaneously and to be sustainable in the orchard for a long time with minimal maintenance. Based on our results, the two multi-species mixtures (15 and 18 species) successfully reduced the cover of weed species, and their composition changed in the direction of the natural flora characteristic of the area. According to general management practices, native species could not widely appear in the control rows created by mowing the local weed flora. Full article

Considering climate change predictions, it is logical to anticipate detrimental effects on the mandarin tree, an essential citrus crop. Therefore, scientists should promptly focus on developing methods to enhance its resistance to climatic stress effects such as sunscald. This study assesses the strategies employed in ‘Balady’ mandarin trees when covered by shading nets of varying colors and percentages (white 50%, green 50% or 63%, black 50% or 63%), as well as the application of reflective materials (kaolin at 4% and CaCO₃ at 3%) on the micro-climate of orchards, leaf, and fruit surface temperatures, fruit sunburn%, productivity, and fruit quality. The results indicated that shade nets effectively reduced temperature and enhanced humidity, especially during the period from June to September, when compared to open-field treatments. Black shade nets, particularly those with a shading level of 63%, demonstrated the most notable decrease in canopy temperature and an elevation in humidity, surpassing the performance of green and white shade nets. The present study found that shade nets and reflecting materials like kaolin and calcium carbonate significantly reduced fruit sunburn. Trees without shade had a sunburn rate of 8.74%, while those with shade treatments suffered no sunburn. Kaolin foliar spray at a concentration of 4% and calcium carbonate at a concentration of 3% reduced sunburn incidence to 3.64% and 7.32%, respectively. These treatments also reduced the intensity of sunburn. All treatments increased fruit yield % compared to the control and yield efficiency (kg/m²), especially the trees covered with white shade net of a 50% shading rate provided the highest values (43.70 and 40.17%) and (5.24 and 5.47 kg/m²) compared to other treatments in both seasons, respectively. Trees covered with a white shade net of a 50% shading rate, followed by a green shade net of 50% and a 63% shading rate, as well as a black shade net of 50% and a 63% shading rate, tended to improve the physical and chemical fruit properties. Therefore, it could be recommended that trees be covered with a white shade net of a 50% shading rate or a green shade net of a 50 and 63% shading rate in summer months due to its beneficial impact on mitigating fruit sunburn damage and enhancing the productivity and quality of ‘‘Balady’’ mandarin trees. Hence, shade nets can be a beneficial technology to protect citrus fruits from sunburn without affecting fruit quality in commercial citrus farms. Full article

A range of remote sensing platforms provide high spatial and temporal resolution insights which are useful for monitoring vegetation growth. Very few studies have focused on fruit orchards, largely due to the inherent complexity of their structure. Fruit trees are mixed with inter-rows that can be grassed or non-grassed, and there are no standard protocols for ground measurements suitable for the range of crops. The assessment of biophysical variables (BVs) for fruit orchards from optical satellites remains a significant challenge. The objectives of this study are as follows: (1) to address the challenges of extracting and better interpreting biophysical variables from optical data by proposing new ground measurements protocols tailored to various orchards with differing inter-row management practices, (2) to quantify the impact of the inter-row at the Sentinel pixel scale, and (3) to evaluate the potential of Sentinel 2 data on BVs for orchard development monitoring and the detection of key phenological stages, such as the flowering and fruit set stages. Several orchards in two pedo-climatic zones in southeast France were monitored for three years: four apricot and nectarine orchards under different management systems and nine cherry orchards with differing tree densities and inter-row surfaces. We provide the first comparison of three established ground-based methods of assessing BVs in orchards: (1) hemispherical photographs, (2) a ceptometer, and (3) the Viticanopy smartphone app. The major phenological stages, from budburst to fruit growth, were also determined by in situ annotations on the same fields monitored using Viticanopy. In parallel, Sentinel 2 images from the two study sites were processed using a Biophysical Variable Neural Network (BVNET) model to extract the main BVs, including the leaf area index (LAI), fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), and fraction of green vegetation cover (FCOVER). The temporal dynamics of the normalised FAPAR were analysed, enabling the detection of the fruit set stage. A new aggregative model was applied to data from hemispherical photographs taken under trees and within inter-rows, enabling us to quantify the impact of the inter-row at the Sentinel 2 pixel scale. The resulting value compared to BVs computed from Sentinel 2 gave statistically significant correlations (0.57 for FCOVER and 0.45 for FAPAR, with respective RMSE values of 0.12 and 0.11). Viticanopy appears promising for assessing the PAI (plant area index) and FCOVER for orchards with grassed inter-rows, showing significant correlations with the Sentinel 2 LAI (R² of 0.72, RMSE 0.41) and FCOVER (R² 0.66 and RMSE 0.08). Overall, our results suggest that Sentinel 2 imagery can support orchard monitoring via indicators of development and inter-row management, offering data that are useful to quantify production and enhance resource management. Full article