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Applied Research and Extension in Agronomic Soil Fertility Series II

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2024 | Viewed by 12097

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Prof. Dr. Lianghuan Wu

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Ministry of Education Key Lab of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: soil nutrient cycling; field fertilizer application strategy
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Dr. Xiaochuang Cao

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State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, China National Rice Research Institute, Hangzhou 310006, China
Interests: soil fertility; soil nutrient cycling; crop cultivation
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Dr. Wenhai Mi

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College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
Interests: soil fertility; soil nutrient cycling; controlled-release fertilizer; nitrogen fertilizer
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Dr. Qingxu Ma

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School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK
Interests: soil nutrient cycling; field fertilizer application strategy
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

According to United Nations estimates, the world's population is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. In order to meet the growing world population’s demand for food, we need more effective agricultural management practices to achieve sustainable agricultural development in order to produce more grain with higher soil fertility and lower environmental costs.

We welcome research that is focused on the production of field crops and physical, chemical, and biological changes in the agricultural soil caused by fertilization, soil improvement, tillage (including no-tillage, reduced-tillage, and direct drilling), irrigation and drainage, and crop rotations.

Moreover, cutting-edge research is welcome on soil carbon sequestration and the establishment of healthy agricultural soil through various field management measures. We welcome submissions of papers related to crop production and the improvement of agricultural soil fertility.

Prof. Dr. Lianghuan Wu
Dr. Xiaochuang Cao
Dr. Wenhai Mi
Dr. Qingxu Ma
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

soil fertility
carbon sequestration
soil nutrient cycling
crop production
agricultural soils

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 5597 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Distribution of Soil Macroelements, Their Uptake by Plants, and Green Pea Yield under Strip-Till Technology

by Małgorzata Szczepanek, Mariusz Piekarczyk and Karolina Błaszczyk

Agronomy 2024, 14(4), 711; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14040711 - 28 Mar 2024

Viewed by 508

Abstract

Using conservation tillage to grow crops that enhance soil quality, such as legumes, seems to be one of the best solutions for sustainable agriculture. The field study was conducted to identify the effect of soil cultivation technology and fertilization, via strip-tilling (reduced) vs. plowing (conventional), on the availability and uptake of NPK and Mg, as well as on the growth of shoots and roots and yield of green peas (Pisum sativum L.). The research was carried out in central Poland (53°05′16.8″ N, 19°06′14.4″ E) over two growing seasons of green peas in 2016 and 2017. Our study has shown that the spatial distribution of macroelements in the soil is influenced by the tillage method. The availability and nutrient uptake by green peas, their growth parameters, and yield were also influenced by the tillage system. However, the effect was observed mainly in the first year of the study, which had less precipitation and higher temperatures. In general, in our study, the strip-till has a positive impact on the nutrient uptake by plants, contributing to longer shoots and roots and higher biomass accumulation, especially in the first part of the growing season. In 2016, with less rainfall, green peas under strip-tilling produced more pods per plant and the yield was higher than under plowing (by 13.8%). In 2017, with higher precipitation, an increase in yield under strip-tilling compared to plowing was also observed (by 9.1%), but this difference was not statistically significant. To sum up, strip-tillage seems to have a positive impact on the spatial distribution of macroelements, growth parameters, and yield of green peas, and can be recommended as a technology for the sustainable production of this crop. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Research and Extension in Agronomic Soil Fertility Series II)

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12 pages, 2117 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Response of Nitrification and Crop Yield to the Presence of NBPT and DCD in a Wheat-Corn Double Cropping System

by Zhaoqi Qu, Xuejing Xia, Dan Liu, Huimin Dong, Tingliang Pan, Haojie Feng, Yanhong Lou, Hui Wang, Quangang Yang, Zhongchen Yang, Hong Pan and Yuping Zhuge

Agronomy 2024, 14(2), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14020285 - 27 Jan 2024

Viewed by 622

Abstract

The excessive application of nitrogen fertilizer aggravated the loss of nitrogen in farmland and exerted detrimental effects on the soil and water environment. Examining the effects of N-(n-Butyl)thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) and nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD) on nitrification and crop yield in wheat-corn double cropping systems would provide valuable insights for improving nitrogen efficiency and ensuring a rational application of inhibitors. A field experiment lasting one and a half years was performed in the winter wheat–summer maize double agroecosystem in North China. The four treatments that were applied included (I) conventional fertilization without inhibitors (CK), (II) conventional fertilization with 0.26 g/m² NBPT (NBPT), (III) conventional fertilization with 1.00 g/m² DCD (DCD), and (IV) conventional fertilization with 0.26 g/m² NBPT and 1.00 g/m² DCD (NBPT + DCD). The results demonstrated that the combined use of NBPT and DCD exerted better effects in reducing NO₃⁻-N leaching. Nitrification could be inhibited for up to 95 days by combining NBPT and DCD, while 21 days by DCD. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) (R² = 0.07159, p < 0.01) along with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) (R² = 0.09359, p < 0.01), rather than a complete ammonia oxidizer (comammox), were significantly and positively correlated with NO₃⁻-N content, which indicated that the ammoxidation process was mainly regulated by AOA and AOB, instead of comammox in the winter wheat–summer maize double agroecosystem in North China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Research and Extension in Agronomic Soil Fertility Series II)

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23 pages, 9452 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of a Fusion Attention Mechanism-Based Model Combining Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Units and Recurrent Neural Networks in Soil Nutrient Content Estimation

by Huan Wang, Lixin Zhang and Jiawei Zhao

Agronomy 2023, 13(11), 2724; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13112724 - 29 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 785

Abstract

Accurately estimating soil nutrient content, including soil organic matter (OM), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) levels, is crucial for optimizing agricultural practices and ensuring sustainable crop production. This paper proposes a model based on a fusion attention mechanism that combines bidirectional gated recurrent units (BiGRU) and recurrent neural networks (RNN) to estimate soil nutrient content. The proposed model integrates the fused attention mechanism with BiGRU and RNN to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of soil nutrient prediction. The fused attention mechanism captures key features in the input data, while the BiGRU architecture captures both forward and backward contextual information, enabling the model to capture long-term dependencies in the data. The results demonstrate that the proposed Att-BiGRU-RNN model outperforms other constructed models, exhibiting a higher prediction accuracy and robustness. The model shows good estimation capabilities for soil OM, N, P, and K with estimation accuracies (R²) of 0.959, 0.907, 0.921, and 0.914, respectively. The application of this model in soil nutrient estimation has the potential to optimize fertilizer management, enhance soil fertility, and ultimately improve crop yield. Further research can explore the applicability of this model in precision agriculture and sustainable soil management practices, benefiting the agricultural sector and contributing to food security and environmental sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Research and Extension in Agronomic Soil Fertility Series II)

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16 pages, 1872 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Responses of Soil Labile Organic Carbon on Aggregate Stability across Different Collapsing-Gully Erosion Positions from Acric Ferralsols of South China

by Xian Tang, Yousef Alhaj Hamoud, Hiba Shaghaleh, Jianrong Zhao, Hong Wang, Jiajia Wang, Tao Zhao, Bo Li and Ying Lu

Agronomy 2023, 13(7), 1869; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13071869 - 14 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1191

Abstract

Soil labile organic carbon (LOC) is a valuable and sensitive parameter of the changes in soil carbon (C) pools and further affects soil structural stability. However, the influences of soil-aggregate stability on LOC fractions under erosion conditions are still unclear, especially under the collapsing gully area of south China. Soils of five positions of collapsing gully erosion, including the upper catchment (UC), collapsing wall (CW), colluvial deposit (CD), scour channel (SC) and alluvial fan (AF) from Acric Ferralsols were investigated and sampled. Soil aggregate stability and LOC fractions were measured and analyzed. Soil water-stable aggregate and passive C (passive-C) contents significantly increased by 67–76% and 8.7–13.0% at the UC, CW, CD and SC positions, respectively, while soil labile C (labile-C) content was lower at these positions as compared to the AF position (p < 0.05). Moreover, the UC position’s soil C pool management index (CPMI) significantly increased by 37–40% compared to CW, CD, SC and AF soils, indicating that the soil of the UC position had a more stable C pool due to its stronger structural stability. SOC, silt, and amorphous iron oxide (Fea) contents significantly contributed to aggregate stability. We demonstrated that the depletion of soil aggregate stability could result in the decreases in soil LOC fractions, while soil properties of the OC but not the LOC pool regulated aggregate stability and thus affected soil structure across different collapsing gully erosion positions in the subtropical Acric Ferralsols region of south China. This study contributes to developing strategies to prevent soil erosion and improve global C cycle and soil quality, which could be beneficial to strengthen soil and water conservation, and improve soil fertility (e.g., SOC) and vegetation recovery, such as tea and tobacco. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Research and Extension in Agronomic Soil Fertility Series II)

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16 pages, 3021 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Response of Rice Grain Yield and Soil Fertility to Fertilization Management under Three Rice-Based Cropping Systems in Reclaimed Soil

by Ping Liu, Tingyu Zhang, Guiliang Wang, Jing Ju, Wei Mao and Haitao Zhao

Agronomy 2023, 13(7), 1840; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13071840 - 12 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1447

Abstract

Reasonable cropping systems and fertilizer management are vital for improving the quality of barren soil. The effectiveness of different crop rotation methods and fertilizers in soil improvement depends on various factors, including soil type, climate conditions, and crop type. In the present study, based on three rice-based cropping systems, the effects of organic fertilizers combined with slow-release fertilizers on rice yield and soil fertility in reclaimed soil were analyzed. The results showed that the rice grain yield was highest under the rice-fallow rotation system (RF) with the application of rapeseed meal fertilizer. Available nutrients such as AN, N_NH₄⁺, TP, and AK showed a significant positive correlation with rice grain yield (p < 0.05). PCA and PERMANOVA analysis supported significant variation in CAZyme abundance among cropping systems (R² = 0.60, p = 0.001) and significant differences between slow-release fertilizer treatments and organic fertilizer treatments (p < 0.05), but not among the three organic fertilizer treatments. Network analysis indicated positive stronger correlations among all functional enzymes in organic fertilizer treatments compared to chemical fertilizer treatments. RDA and correlation heat map results showed that C/N ratios and N_NH₄⁺ were strongly related to CAZyme composition. PLS-PM analysis revealed that soil available nitrogen positively influenced several variables, while rice grain yield was negatively influenced by soil enzymes and TOC. These findings suggested that under appropriate cropping systems, partially substituting chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers can effectively enhance the availability of nutrients in the soil, alter the activity of carbon-cycling microorganisms, and increase rice grain yield. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Research and Extension in Agronomic Soil Fertility Series II)

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15 pages, 3580 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Chemically Diverse Organic Residue Amendment on Soil Enzymatic Activities in a Sandy Loam Soil

by Sandeep Sharma, Neha Sharma, Nihar Gupta, Padma Angmo, Manzer H. Siddiqui and Md Atikur Rahman

Agronomy 2023, 13(7), 1719; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13071719 - 27 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1066

Abstract

To monitor soil biological quality, it is of paramount importance to assess how chemically diverse organic residue amendments reciprocate to organic matter. The present incubation study aimed to evaluate the effect of organic residue amendments varying widely in their biochemical composition on the dynamics of soil enzymatic activity. The changes in the pattern of soil enzymatic activity have been monitored over a period of 63 days using a total of eleven different crop residues. The enzyme activity (dehydrogenase, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase and phytase) in soils amended with chemically diverse organic residues were significantly higher as compared to the control. It was further observed that the enzymatic activities in Azadirachta indica, Avena sativa and Lens culinaris continued to be higher up to 28 days after their incorporation (DAI). Our study showed that plant residues varying in different cellulose and hemicellulose contents influenced the enzymatic activities as well as functional diversity of soil microbial communities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Research and Extension in Agronomic Soil Fertility Series II)

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14 pages, 1126 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Morphological and Physiological Response of Tomato to Sole and Combined Application of Vermicompost and Chemical Fertilizers

by Muhammad Qasim, Jing Ju, Haitao Zhao, Saleem Maseeh Bhatti, Gulnaz Saleem, Saima Parveen Memon, Shahzaib Ali, Muhammad Usama Younas, Nimra Rajput and Zameer Hussain Jamali

Agronomy 2023, 13(6), 1508; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13061508 - 30 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1805

Abstract

Chemical fertilizers are commonly used to meet the nutritional demands of crops and boost their yields. However, their high costs and excessive application in soils increase the cost of production and have negative effects on the soil and environmental health. Vermicompost is an organic amendment that can potentially lessen the dependence on chemical fertilizers, with the additional advantages of sustainable nutrient supply to crops and maintaining soil health. To evaluate the potential of the two diverse vermicompost, the sole and combined applications of these vermicompost with reduced rates of chemical fertilizers were used for tomato cultivation in a field study. The results indicated that vermicompost produced from cattle manure combined with chemical fertilizers was more effective in improving tomato growth, physiology, yield, and nutritional attributes. Compared to the control treatment (NP applied), the combined application of vermicompost and chemical fertilizer significantly improved the root length (21.6%), plant height (167%), SPAD value (13.5%), chlorophyll ‘a’ (96%), chlorophyll ‘b’ (161%), relative water content (16%), membrane stability index (18%), carotenoid (87%), yield (82%), photosynthetic rate (148%), fruit diameter (83%), protein (89%), fat (27.5%), fiber (12%), vitamin C (52%), calcium (54%), magnesium (117%), phosphorus (38%) and potassium (128%). In addition, significant improvements in different soil physicochemical properties were also pragmatic. The results suggest that vermicompost application with reduced doses of chemical fertilizers can be used to improve crop yield and soil physico-chemical properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Research and Extension in Agronomic Soil Fertility Series II)

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17 pages, 5119 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Continuous Cropping Alters Soil Hydraulic and Physicochemical Properties in the Karst Region of Southwestern China

by Xu Yang, Ke Zhang, Hiba Shaghaleh, Zhiming Qi, Chao Gao, Tingting Chang, Jie Zhang, Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman and Yousef Alhaj Hamoud

Agronomy 2023, 13(5), 1416; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13051416 - 20 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1438

Abstract

Continuous cropping causes soil degradation and decreases crop yield in the karst region of southwestern China. However, the relationship between continuous cropping systems and soil hydraulic and physicochemical properties remains incompletely elucidated. In this study, we performed a comparative investigation on the soil physicochemical properties and soil-water-characteristic-curve-derived parameters from sites subjected to 3, 5, or 7 years of continuous cropping (CC3, CC5, and CC7) and cropping rotation (CC0). Soil organic matter content, clay content, and pH were significantly greater in soils under CC0 and short-term cropping (CC3) than in soils under long-term cropping (CC5 and CC7). This finding illustrated that continuous cropping reduced soil organic matter content, clay content, and pH. Across all continuous cropping durations, soil water holding capacity at 40~60 cm was greater than the 20~40 cm and 0~20 cm layers. The significantly greater soil water characteristics (except saturated moisture) in CC0 and CC3 soils than in CC5 or CC7 soils at all soil depths demonstrated that soil water characteristics deteriorated with the prolongation of cropping duration. The same soil water characteristics were positively correlated with soil organic matter content, clay content, and pH. These correlations, when viewed within the context of continuous cropping, can inform the development of more sustainable cropping systems in similar karst regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Research and Extension in Agronomic Soil Fertility Series II)

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13 pages, 2675 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Mineral Fertilization and Organic Amendments on Rice Grain Yield, Soil Quality and Economic Benefit in Newly Cultivated Land: A Study Case from Southeast China

by Linlin Si, Jing Xu, Kai Cao, Xian Zhang, Kefeng Han and Jianhong Wang

Agronomy 2023, 13(5), 1361; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13051361 - 12 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1176

Abstract

Low soil fertility and low microbiological activity have been widely observed in certain newly cultivated lands. To develop effective agricultural management practices that can improve soil quality rapidly, a field experiment was conducted on paddy fields reclaimed from unused, low-slope, hilly wasteland in Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province, Southeast China. The six treatments that were applied included (1) control (CK), no crops were planted and no fertilizers were applied; (2) R, rice planted without fertilization; (3) RR, rice–ryegrass rotation without fertilizer application; (4) RRM, rice–ryegrass rotation with the application of mineral fertilizer; (5) RRMO, rice–ryegrass rotation with the application of mineral fertilizer and organic manure; and (6) RRMH, rice–ryegrass rotation with mineral fertilizer and humic acid application. The results showed that the application of fertilizer with ryegrass cropping improved the amounts of soil organic C (SOC) by 115–296% and particulate organic C (POC) by 162–256% (p < 0.05). Additionally, the RRMO treatment had the highest soil quality index value (0.81), which was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of the other treatments. The random forest model showed that N-related properties (including urease activity, total N, and particulate organic N), C-related properties (including SOC, POC, and cellulase activity), and available P could significantly (p < 0.05) explain the response of rice yield to different fertilization management strategies. Compared with CK, the cultivated land quality grades of RRMO and RRMH increased from Grade 9 to Grade 7. However, the RRMH obtained the highest net profit from farmland quota trading. Overall, RRMO and RRMH are suggested to rapidly improve soil productivity and maximize the economic benefit of newly cultivated land utilization, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Research and Extension in Agronomic Soil Fertility Series II)

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15 pages, 3601 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analytic Method for Optimizing the Allocation of Manure Nutrients Based on the Assessment of Land Carrying Capacity: A Case Study from a Typical Agricultural Region in China

by Jingjing Sun, Xinyu Mao, Hiba Shaghaleh, Tingting Chang, Runzhi Wang, Senmao Zhai and Yousef Alhaj Hamoud

Agronomy 2023, 13(4), 1064; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13041064 - 06 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1213

Abstract

The separation between planting and breeding results in an unbalanced distribution of the regional livestock and poultry manure (RLM) industry, and it has raised great concerns. A holistic analysis and problem-solving scheme using 72 townships as the research point was developed in this study. On the basis of a survey from a typical agricultural region in China, the local characteristics of manure discharge, land use, and crop cultivation were analyzed. The assessment of land carrying capacity and environmental risk assessment was conducted by simulating the nitrogen cycle. Afterwards, optimized livestock breeding strategies and inter-regional transfer and flow scheme of manure nutrients were proposed. The spatial distribution of RLM in terms of pig manure equivalent showed an imbalance of high north–south and low middle, and the nitrogen requirement of crops showed a decreasing trend from north to south. In some townships, the environmental risks were higher than level I, which indicated that pollution existed around large construction sites and water areas in the northwest. The land carrying capacity index calculated at 50% nutrient ratio displayed no overloaded risk, whereas 10–20% nutrient ratio exhibited overloaded risk. Assessments showed that the residual RLM and its nitrogen volume were 151,700 and 3574.64 tons per year, respectively. More than 80% of the study area could be used as a nitrogen nutrient sink area, and only six townships are nitrogen nutrient sources. Therefore, optimizing the allocation of manure nutrients is expected to avoid agricultural contamination from livestock manure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applied Research and Extension in Agronomic Soil Fertility Series II)

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