Crop Cultivation Physiology and Farmland Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 June 2023) | Viewed by 4906

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China
Interests: crop cultivation and physiology; greenhouse gas emission; nutrient use efficiency

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
Interests: crop high-yield physiology; cultivation management; root function

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

At the farm or field level, multiple agriculture activities on the land interact with one another, playing important roles in crop yield and the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and other elements and thus affecting soil carbon storage and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The effects of these activities on the agricultural ecosystem can result in synergies or in tradeoffs to obtain the destination of crop yield increase and GHG emission mitigation. To the extent possible, all management decisions must be incorporated in the quantification of a farm’s yield formation and GHG impact.

This Special Issue focuses on the development and assessment of crop management, crop breeding, and biotechnology advances on the potential synergies of crop yield and GHG emission reduction. The corresponding physiological mechanisms related to this process should be evaluated to advance our understanding on how to mitigate the GHG emission without crop penalty. For this reason, the issue welcomes highly interdisciplinary quality studies from disparate research fields, including crop management, crop physiology, environment science, and crop growth models. Original research articles and reviews are accepted.

Prof. Dr. Lijun Liu
Prof. Dr. Hao Zhang
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. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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 management
  • crop physiology
  • crop yield
  • greenhouse gas emissions
  • soil carbon storage
  • climate change
  • mitigation options
  • physiological mechanisms

Published Papers (4 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

23 pages, 5299 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Plastic Mulching Combined with Different Fertilizer Applications on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Intensity, and Apple Yield in Northwestern China
by Thongsouk Sompouviset, Yanting Ma, Eakkarin Sukkaew, Zhaoxia Zheng, Ai Zhang, Wei Zheng, Ziyan Li and Bingnian Zhai
Agriculture 2023, 13(6), 1211; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13061211 - 07 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1642
Abstract
Plastic mulching reduces weeds, conserves soil water, and boosts crop yield. However, most studies are insufficient when determining how plastic mulching affects greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly when used in conjunction with fertilizers. The purpose of this study was to determine the combined [...] Read more.
Plastic mulching reduces weeds, conserves soil water, and boosts crop yield. However, most studies are insufficient when determining how plastic mulching affects greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly when used in conjunction with fertilizers. The purpose of this study was to determine the combined effect of plastic mulching and fertilizers on GHG emissions in apple orchards. A 3-year field experiment was conducted with two factors: mulching and fertilizers; (1) mulching treatments: plastic film (PM) and no mulching (NM); and (2) four fertilizer treatments: control (CK), organic fertilizer (M), inorganic fertilizer (NPK), and organic combined with inorganic fertilizer (MNPK), arranged in a two factorial randomized complete block design. The results showed that the mean annual N2O emissions ranged from 0.87 to 5.07 kg ha−1 in PM and from 0.75 to 2.90 kg ha−1 in NM. The mean CO2 emissions ranged from 2.10 to 6.68 t ha−1 in PM and from 1.98 to 4.27 t ha−1 in NM. MNPK contributed more to N2O and CO2 emissions in both PM and NM. The mean CH4 uptake rate ranged from 1.19 to 4.25 kg ha−1 in PM and from 1.14 to 6.75 kg ha−1 in NM. M treatment contributed more to CH4 uptake in both PM and NM. NKP treatments had higher greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) in PM and NM, while MNPK and NPK treatments had higher greenhouse gas potential (GWP) in PM and NM, respectively. These results suggest that plastic film mulching significantly raises the potential for soil GHG emissions and increases apple yield. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1248 KiB  
Article
The Response of Grain Yield and Quality of Water-Saving and Drought-Resistant Rice to Irrigation Regimes
by Danping Hou, Yuan Wei, Kun Liu, Jinsong Tan, Qingyu Bi, Guolan Liu, Xinqiao Yu, Junguo Bi and Lijun Luo
Agriculture 2023, 13(2), 302; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13020302 - 27 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1567
Abstract
Of all the crops, rice is the one that consumes the most water. Rice yields and quality are significantly influenced by irrigation. However, it is still unknown how different irrigation practices would affect the grain yield and quality of water-saving and drought-resistant rice. [...] Read more.
Of all the crops, rice is the one that consumes the most water. Rice yields and quality are significantly influenced by irrigation. However, it is still unknown how different irrigation practices would affect the grain yield and quality of water-saving and drought-resistant rice. Hyou 518 (high-yielding rice variety) and Hanyou 73 (water-saving and drought-resistant rice variety) were employed as materials. Three irrigation regimes were set up in the field: conventional flooding irrigation (CF), alternate wetting and moderate soil drying irrigation (AWD), and dry cultivation (D). It was investigated how various irrigation regimes affected the two varieties’ yield and quality. The results revealed the following: 1. D considerably increased water-use efficiency while drastically reducing the yield, compared to CF and AWD. In comparison to other irrigation regimes, the grain yield and water use efficiency of Hanyou 73 enhanced synergistically under AWD treatment. 2. In contrast to CF treatment, AWD and D (especially) treatments decreased perfect rice kernel, total starch content, amylose content, amylopectin content, amylose/amylopectin, gel consistency, and breakdown, but increased green rice kernel, chalky kernel, protein content, and setback. 3. After heading, AWD and D lowered, and D treatment decreased more, the activities of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP), soluble starch synthase (SSS), and starch branching enzyme (SBE). AGP, SSS, and SBE were strongly inversely linked with perfect rice kernel, amylopectin content, gel consistency, and breakdown, but significantly negatively correlated with green rice kernel, chalky kernel, protein content, and setback. The results indicate that with AWD treatment, Hanyou 73 might provide a synergistic boost grain production, water-use efficiency, and quality. D treatment could significantly improve water-use efficiency. Compared with Hyou518, Hanyou 73 could maintain higher AGP, SSS, and SBE activities, head milled rice, perfect rice kernel, amylopectin content, and gel consistency under AWD and D treatment. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 2493 KiB  
Article
Rice Cultivar Renewal Reduces Methane Emissions by Improving Root Traits and Optimizing Photosynthetic Carbon Allocation
by Siyu Li, Lu Chen, Xian Han, Kai Yang, Kun Liu, Jun Wang, Yun Chen and Lijun Liu
Agriculture 2022, 12(12), 2134; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12122134 - 12 Dec 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1435
Abstract
Cultivar renewal (CR) contributes greatly to rice yield increase in China and even in the world. However, few studies were focused on the impact and mechanism of CR on field methane (CH4) emissions. A 2-year field experiment was conducted using 14 [...] Read more.
Cultivar renewal (CR) contributes greatly to rice yield increase in China and even in the world. However, few studies were focused on the impact and mechanism of CR on field methane (CH4) emissions. A 2-year field experiment was conducted using 14 typical japonica rice cultivars released in the Yangtze River Basin of China during the last 70 years. The grain yield, root morphophysiological traits and their relationships with CH4 emissions were examined. The results showed that the grain yields of cultivars in the 1960–2010s increased by 18.8–93.9% while the CH4 emissions decreased by 9.5–41.2% compared with the 1950’s cultivars. The daily and cumulative CH4 emissions during the panicle differentiation stage (PD) were reduced significantly, which contributed greatly to the CH4 mitigation of the whole growing season. The CR notably increased root biomass, root/shoot ratio, root oxidation activity, and the total organic carbon in root exudates (ETOC), and decreased the ratios of ETOC/yield, ETOC/root biomass and ETOC/shoot biomass. Nitrogen fertilizer applied during panicle differentiation could improve the root physiology and decrease the ETOC/yield and ETOC/root, therefore reducing CH4 emissions. Our findings illustrated that CR reduced CH4 emissions by improving root traits and by optimizing the photosynthate allocation to biomass and grain yields. Applying nitrogen fertilizer during panicle differentiation could further mitigate the CH4 emissions in paddies. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 2514 KiB  
Article
Response of Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency to Irrigation Regimes during Mid-Season indica Rice Genotype Improvement
by Wenjiang Jing, Hao Wu, Hanzhu Gu, Zhilin Xiao, Weilu Wang, Weiyang Zhang, Junfei Gu, Lijun Liu, Zhiqin Wang, Jianhua Zhang, Jianchang Yang and Hao Zhang
Agriculture 2022, 12(10), 1647; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12101647 - 09 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1672
Abstract
Understanding the performance of rice (Oryza sativa L.) agronomic traits and efficiency in water usage as well as grain yield under various irrigation regimes is crucial to achieving high resource use efficiency and high yield. In this study, 12 mid-season indica rice [...] Read more.
Understanding the performance of rice (Oryza sativa L.) agronomic traits and efficiency in water usage as well as grain yield under various irrigation regimes is crucial to achieving high resource use efficiency and high yield. In this study, 12 mid-season indica rice genotypes that have been grown in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River for the past 80 years were studied in a field experiment for two years under two irrigation regimes, i.e., conventional irrigation (CI) and alternate wetting and drying irrigation (AWD). The results showed that with genotype improvement in irrigation regimes, the total number of spikelets, shoot and root dry weight, root oxidation activity, total leaf area index (LAI), effective LAI, leaf photosynthetic rate, and abscisic acid contents and zeatin + zeatin riboside contents in root bleeding sap were significantly increased at main growth stages. AWD irrigation synchronously increased rice resource use efficiency (water use efficiency (WUE), radiation use efficiency (RUE), and temperature use efficiency (TUE)) and grain yield. Compared to CI, AWD more significantly enhanced the performances of rice genotypes in all studied traits. Based on our findings, a semi-dwarf hybrid rice genotype has great potential for high resource use efficiency and high yield under alternate wetting and drying irrigation, which was attributed to the improved agronomic characteristics and superior root traits. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop