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Agronomy
Special Issues
Cropping Systems and Agronomic Management Practices of Field Crops—2nd Edition
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Cropping Systems and Agronomic Management Practices of Field Crops—2nd Edition

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Innovative Cropping Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (22 March 2024) | Viewed by 2027

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Aurelio Scavo

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Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Polo Universitario dell’Annunziata, 98168 Messina, Italy
Interests: agronomy; crop production; allelopathy; weed science; weed management; cover crops; fertilization; Cynara cardunculus; potato
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Umberto Anastasi

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Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, I-95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: agronomy; cropping systems; oilseed crops; legume crops; cereal crops field crops; cover crops; agrobiodiversity; ecophysiology, abiotic stress; product quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agriculture is facing the challenge of the transition to sustainability to meet the growing demand for food, feed, and for several other renewable nonfood raw materials under a changing climatic scenario. Understanding the complexity of agroecosystems can favor research on innovative agronomic practices to guide this change. The optimization of the spatiotemporal combination among plants in farming systems (crop sequence and intercropping), the exploitation of the different forms of biodiversity at soil and plant level, the increase in the use efficiency of native resources (radiation and rainfall, N2, CO2, H2O, etc.), and the reduction of the dependence on external energy input (soil tillage, agrochemicals and mineral fertilizers) represent the driving forces behind this paradigmatic change. This approach will ensure the enhancement of the territorial vocation in productive and qualitative terms, also promoting several ecosystem services, from carbon sequestration to landscape ecology.

The scientific community is called to take up this challenge, which can contribute to the progress of agriculture while safeguarding the biosphere. For these reasons, the present Special Issue will focus on recent advancements in the wide scientific area of field crops in order to identify strategies and tactics calibrated site-by-site for an eco-friendly and efficient agronomic management. We encourage, in particular, contributions on the choice of plant species and cultivars (traditional and improved) and agronomic practices (soil tillage, fertilization, irrigation, weed control) to design and manage productive and sustainable cropping systems with different degrees of intensification and scale, from traditional to commercial farming (smallholding, organic, protected areas; mixed, pastoral, hay, site-specific), variously spread throughout the world. The influence of these agronomic aspects on the quality of the products of field crops will also be considered. Research papers, communications, and review articles on the abovementioned topics are welcome.

Dr. Aurelio Scavo
Dr. Umberto Anastasi
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

  • agronomy
  • field crops
  • agrobiodiversity
  • fertilization
  • irrigation
  • weed management
  • soil management
  • crop quality
  • cover cropping
  • crop physiology
  • organic farming
  • climatic change
  • sustainability
  • ecosystem services

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1706 KiB  
Article
Harvesting of Arachis hypogaea L. in an Italian Area: Synergy between Cultural Techniques and Mechanization
by Maura Sannino, Alberto Assirelli, Rossella Piscopo, Fausto Esposito and Salvatore Faugno
Agronomy 2024, 14(1), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14010027 - 21 Dec 2023
Viewed by 610
Abstract
The world production of peanuts is 45.9 million tons, of which China and India account for 50% of the total production. The cultivation of peanuts in Italy has had a reduction in recent decades mainly due to the high harvesting costs due to [...] Read more.
The world production of peanuts is 45.9 million tons, of which China and India account for 50% of the total production. The cultivation of peanuts in Italy has had a reduction in recent decades mainly due to the high harvesting costs due to a lack of specific mechanization despite possessing favorable soil and climatic conditions. In this work, modern harvesting technologies are analyzed for adaptation to Italian areas and loss containment, and agronomic technique adaptation for mechanical harvesting. The mechanical harvesting was evaluated in two steps: plant extraction and separation pods. The results showed that lower planting density led to approximately 22% higher production and reduction in crop losses (−52%). The same trend showed that yield and harvesting efficiency were found to be 40% and 22% higher. Our research aimed to evaluate the impact of new technologies integrated by suitable agronomic management, grain losses, and the quality of the final product obtained. The lowest density also improved the healthy pod rate by 11%, from 59 to 70%. These results suggest that an integration of modern technologies and specific agronomic management improves pod retention during harvesting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cropping Systems and Agronomic Management Practices of Field Crops—2nd Edition)
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9 pages, 248 KiB  
Article
Pearl Millet–Groundnut Cropping Systems for the Sahel
by Nouri Maman and Stephen C. Mason
Agronomy 2023, 13(12), 3029; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13123029 - 10 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1050
Abstract
A two-year study of pearl millet–groundnut cropping systems across two fertilizer levels was conducted in Maradi, Niger, in the Sahelian zone of West Africa. The objective of this study was to identify the best cropping system with and without fertilizer application. The experiment [...] Read more.
A two-year study of pearl millet–groundnut cropping systems across two fertilizer levels was conducted in Maradi, Niger, in the Sahelian zone of West Africa. The objective of this study was to identify the best cropping system with and without fertilizer application. The experiment was conducted with ten treatment combinations of five pearl millet and groundnut cropping systems (pearl millet and groundnut sole crops, and three pearl millet—groundnut intercrops) and two fertilizer levels. Yields were approximately 300 kg ha−1 higher in the 2022 high rainfall year than in 2021, but the year did not interact with cropping systems or fertilizer application. All the intercropping systems had an LER above 1.0, and land use efficiency increased by 19 to 41%. Fertilizer application increased yields in all cropping systems by 200 to 600 kg ha−1. The government subsidy increased the value-to-cost ratio by 0.5 to 2.5 units and was required for the economic response for pearl millet sole and intercrops in 2022. The groundnut sole cropping system had the greatest economic response to fertilizer application. Based on the risky environment and multiple end uses needed by producers, the intercrop system M-G: 1:3:1 with fertilizer application is the best option to optimize pearl millet and groundnut production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cropping Systems and Agronomic Management Practices of Field Crops—2nd Edition)
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