Selected Papers from the 3rd International Electronic Conference on Agronomy (IECAG 2023)

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant-Crop Biology and Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 3564

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Grassland Ecosystem Research Unit (UREP), French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
Interests: agricultural and environmental climatology; biogeochemical fluxes; hydro-meteorology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute—National Research Institute, Radzików, 05-870 Błonie, Poland
Interests: cereal; biodiversity; climate change; plant genetic resources; crop protection; ecology; sustainable agriculture; gene bank; genetics; plant breeding
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the 3rd International Electronic Conference in Agronomy, A Global Perspective on 21st Century Agronomy: Research Opportunities and Challenges Ahead (https://sciforum.net/event/IECAG2023), to be held on 15–30 Oct 2023.

At this conference, we aim to promote and advance the exciting and rapidly changing field of agronomy. We look forward to seeing you at our event, and I am pleased to announce a Special Issue dedicated to this conference. This Special Issue will feature selected articles from the Proceedings volume associated with our event, which will be published on sciforum.net. This platform serves as a dedicated space to host scholarly e-conferences and facilitating dynamic discussion groups. We invite you to contribute your valuable research and insights to this Special Issue, as it provides a unique opportunity to showcase your work on a global platform. We encourage submissions on a wider range of topics, including, but not limited to:

  1. Disease, pest and weed control in sustainable agriculture;
  2. Agro-ecology innovation for re-inventing cropping and grazing systems;
  3. Improving nutrient- and water-use efficiencies;
  4. Digital farming for the evolution of agriculture and agricultural engineering;
  5. Plant breeding, genetics, genomics and biotechnology;
  6. Horticultural and floricultural crops.

We look forward to having fruitful discussions and exchanging ideas during this conference and eagerly await receiving your contribution.

Dr. Gianni Bellocchi
Prof. Dr. Jerzy Henryk Czembor
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. Agronomy 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

  • genetic erosion
  • rural engineering
  • grassland-based livestock farming
  • agricultural digitalisation
  • agrobiodiversity
  • post-harvest technology
  • quality breeding
  • plant growth promoters
  • service crops

Published Papers (3 papers)

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

Research

17 pages, 18572 KiB  
Article
Geographic Information System-Based Analysis of Reclaimable Idle Cropland for Agrivoltaics in Kansai, Japan: Enhancing Energy and Food Security
by Hideki Nakata and Seiichi Ogata
Agronomy 2024, 14(2), 398; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14020398 - 19 Feb 2024
Viewed by 724
Abstract
Decarbonization and idle cropland reclaiming pose critical policy challenges. Agrivoltaic systems (AVSs), which merge agriculture and photovoltaics, offer a promising solution by reducing land use conflicts between agriculture and energy production. This study develops a GIS-based methodology to identify reclaimable idle croplands and [...] Read more.
Decarbonization and idle cropland reclaiming pose critical policy challenges. Agrivoltaic systems (AVSs), which merge agriculture and photovoltaics, offer a promising solution by reducing land use conflicts between agriculture and energy production. This study develops a GIS-based methodology to identify reclaimable idle croplands and assess the AVS’s contribution to agriculture and photovoltaic energy in Japan’s Kansai region. Using official geographic data and excluding high-risk areas, this study employs GIS for quantitative analysis. Our method detected more reclaimable idle cropland than previous studies. Focusing on food security while limiting AVS installations to reclaimable idle croplands could still generate up to 4564.08 GWh of electricity (0.8% of regional consumption) and 930.82 tons of soybeans (6.2% of regional yield). Under a more stringent scenario that excludes areas less suitable for solar power, 5 of 227 municipalities could achieve 15% electricity self-sufficiency through AVS. This research uncovers the existence of reclaimable idle croplands that could not be detected by existing methods and a decentralized power source available alongside food security maintenance. These insights will inform decarbonization and agricultural policy and guide the development of supportive and regulatory AVS frameworks. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 5170 KiB  
Article
Biological Exploration and Physicochemical Characteristics of Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus in Several Host Crops
by Ubilfrido Vasquez Gutierrez, Henry López López, Gustavo Alberto Frías Treviño, Juan Carlos Delgado Ortiz, Alberto Flores Olivas, Luis Alberto Aguirre Uribe and Agustín Hernández Juarez
Agronomy 2024, 14(2), 388; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14020388 - 17 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1123
Abstract
Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is considered an emerging disease and a viral pandemic for tomato consumers. The objectives of this research were to analyze the biological and physicochemical characteristics of ToBRFV in tomato and tobacco plants, as well as to evaluate [...] Read more.
Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is considered an emerging disease and a viral pandemic for tomato consumers. The objectives of this research were to analyze the biological and physicochemical characteristics of ToBRFV in tomato and tobacco plants, as well as to evaluate its natural host range. Inoculant seeds were recovered from ToBRFV-infected tomato samples in Coahuila, Mexico, and confirmed by RT-PCR. In the first greenhouse experiment, tomato plants of the F1 hybrid variety 172–300 (Yüksel), infected with ToBRFV, were used to evaluate viral inclusions (VI), dilution endpoint (DEP), the incubation period (IP), and latency period (LP). In a greenhouse experiment, Nicotiana longiflora plants were inoculated with ToBRFV to determine the in vitro longevity (IVL) and thermal inactivation (TI) of the virus in sap. Finally, the inoculation of tomato plants grown in open fields was carried out to evaluate transmission to natural hosts. The plants tested for possible ToBRFV reservoirs near the inoculum source were inspected and confirmed by a double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA). The results indicate that the VIs on tomato leaves manifested as X-bodies and rounded, stacked plaques within epidermal cells. The DEP required to induce the infection in plants was from a ToBRFV concentration of 1 × 10−5.5, the IP of ToBRFV occurred 9 to 12 days post-inoculation, and LP could be detected one day after inoculation. The TI of ToBRFV in N. longiflora plants occurred at 85 °C for 30 min. Ipomoea purpurea, Mirabilis jalapa, Clematis drummondii, and Solanum tuberosum were newly identified hosts of ToBRFV. The results found contribute to a better understanding of the impact of ToBRFV, managing and preventing the spread of ToBRFV in diverse environments. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

12 pages, 1063 KiB  
Article
Effect of Varied Salinity on Marigold Flowers: Reduced Size and Quantity Despite Enhanced Antioxidant Activity
by María Rita Guzman and Isabel Marques
Agronomy 2023, 13(12), 3076; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13123076 - 17 Dec 2023
Viewed by 899
Abstract
Salinity is an increasing problem worldwide that limits crop production. The cultivation of salt-tolerant flowers is a potential sustainable strategy for the exploitation of saline soils while avoiding the use of freshwater resources. However, our understanding of how flowers can adapt to salinity [...] Read more.
Salinity is an increasing problem worldwide that limits crop production. The cultivation of salt-tolerant flowers is a potential sustainable strategy for the exploitation of saline soils while avoiding the use of freshwater resources. However, our understanding of how flowers can adapt to salinity is still limited. In this study, we investigated the effects of salinity on a widely-used ornamental plant (Tagetes patula) by submitting three cultivars (cv. Aurora Orange, Fireball, Safari Scarlet) to different salinity levels (0, 50, 100, 300 mM). The plants were grown under controlled conditions and followed over two weeks. We tested the effect of salinity on plant growth and flower production, as well as on the levels of total carotenoids, polyphenols, and flavonoids, and the activities of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, peroxidase activity, ascorbate peroxidase). The findings indicate a substantial decline in both plant growth and flower production under saline conditions. Overall, plant height was ¼ lower, and there were 1/3 less flowers under salinity. Additionally, there was a consistent rise in antioxidant compounds, highlighting the swift response of defense mechanisms, both enzymatic and non-enzymatic, to combat stress. The high levels of antioxidant compounds sustain the use of marigold flowers as a new source of nutritional compounds, with enriched nutritional contents. Yet, cultivation of these plants in saline conditions should carefully consider the pronounced adverse effects observed at high salinity levels (e.g., 100 and 300 mM) on both plant and flower production. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop