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Special Issue "Sustainable Circular Agricultural Food Production Systems"

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Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences Osijek, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Vladimira Preloga 1, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
Interests: agroforestry; agroecology; intercropping; sustainable agriculture

Dr. Darija Bilandzija

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Department of General Agronomy, Division for Agroecology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: organic agriculture; agroclimatology; climate change and agriculture

Prof. Dr. Bal Ram Singh

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Department of Environmental Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003 Ås, Norway
Interests: soil health; soil degradation; soil relation to climate change

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Circular agriculture was widely practiced in the pre-industrial era. However, with the appearance of intensive agriculture, it has been abandoned as an unprofitable practice. Intensive large-scale farming focused on maximizing profit over environmental protection has led to the soil degradation of agricultural land. Recently, the return to circular agriculture has been encouraged more and more to restore agricultural soils and reduce CO₂ emissions as well as the overall ecological footprint of agriculture. Circular agriculture promotes sustainable agricultural production across every food production step, growing and harvesting crops, packaging and processing of food, and finally transport, marketing and consumption of the products. The most common practices of circular agriculture include mixed crop–livestock farming, organic farming, and agroforestry which aim to reduce CO₂ emissions, use natural resources efficiently, and reduce inputs.

Research in circular agriculture promotes the development of new methods in agriculture supporting sustainable practices. Cutting-edge research in the development of such practices is necessary to assess the productivity and sustainability of such systems. The scope of the Special Issue will include original research papers and review papers addressing the issues raised above.

Dr. Vladimir Ivezić
Dr. Darija Bilandzija
Prof. Dr. Bal Ram Singh
Guest Editors

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Keywords

agroforestry
diversified cropping
food safety
intercropping
mixed crop–livestock farming
organic farming
sustainable agriculture

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Research

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Farming Management and Crop Rotation Systems on Chlorophyll Content, Dry Matter Translocation, and Grain Quantity and Quality of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Grown in a Semi-Arid Region of Iran

and

Agronomy 2023, 13(4), 1007; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13041007 - 29 Mar 2023

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Abstract

To find suitable farming management approaches in the semi-arid climate of Iran, we set up an experiment combining three farm management practices with four crop rotation systems over four growing seasons (two winter and two summer seasons), from 2018 to 2020. The three farm management practices comprised: intensive (IF, with inorganic inputs, removal of crop residues from the soil, and weeds chemically controlled), organic (OF, with organic inputs, a return 30% of crop residues in the soil, and weeds mechanically controlled), and integrated (INT, with mineral/organic inputs, return 15% of crop residues to the soil, integrated weed control). The four crop rotation systems were: fallow-wheat (F-W), maize-wheat (M-W), sesame-wheat (S-W), and mung bean-wheat (B-W). Treatment effects were assessed by chlorophyll (Chl) content, photosynthetic parameters, and wheat grain quality and quantity measurements. All management practices from the first to the second year resulted in increases in the total Chl content and post-anthesis photosynthesis (PAP). The total Chl content under INT was improved through a greater increase in Chl-b compared to Chl-a. Dry matter remobilisation (DMR) was higher under INT than under IF. The highest (39) and lowest (23) grain number per spike were obtained in IF under B-W and OF under F-W, respectively. B-W produced the highest grain yield (541.4 g m⁻²). The protein contents in farming with organic matter inputs were higher than that under IF. INT produced an optimum level of wheat yield despite a 50% reduction in chemical inputs, and this was achieved through the fast absorption of chemical elements at the beginning of growth, and having access—at the grain filling stage—to elements derived from organic matter decomposition, and through the utilisation of DMR. Our results indicate that implementing B-W and S-W under INT is a promising strategy for this region. However, the results need to be further evaluated by long-term experiments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Circular Agricultural Food Production Systems)

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Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Consortia of Beneficial Microorganisms on the Growth and Yield of Aquaponically Grown Romaine Lettuce

and

Stanisław Kaniszewski

Agronomy 2023, 13(2), 546; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020546 - 14 Feb 2023

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Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of fish farm wastewater from the production of hybrid sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii Brandt × Acipenser baeri Brandt) on the growth and quality parameters of romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. longifolium cv. “Elizium”). The tested combinations were fish farm wastewater, fish farm wastewater enriched with one of the three microbiological consortia, and fish farm wastewater supplemented with minerals. The best growth parameters of romaine lettuce plants were obtained in the combination of wastewater from fish farming supplemented with mineral nutrients. The application of fish farm wastewater and beneficial microbiological consortia positively influenced the fresh weight of lettuce leaves and the number of leaves per plant. However, plants fed with wastewater supplemented with minerals were characterized by the strongest symptoms of leaf tip-burn and the lowest commercial value. By comparison, plants fed only with fish farm wastewater or wastewater with microorganisms were characterized by a high, similar commercial value. After the application of increased doses of minerals, there was evidence of greater activity of microorganisms involved in nutrient cycling in aquaponic lettuce cultivation. The application of the microbiological consortia and minerals significantly increased the numbers and activity of the bacteria in the culture liquids 7, 14, and 21 days after inoculation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Circular Agricultural Food Production Systems)

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