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Studies on Green Agriculture for Sustainable Development: Cultivation Methodologies, Techniques and Improving New Varieties

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 3917

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Prof. Dr. Nesibe Ebru Kafkas

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Guest Editor

Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Çukurova, Balcali, Adana 01330, Turkey
Interests: fruits; pomology; biodiversity; genetics; berry fruits; fruit quality

Dr. Franco Capocasa

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Guest Editor

Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, via Brecce Bianche 10, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Interests: breeding programs; fruit quality; nursery, rootstock; water management; antioxidant capacity; phenolic compounds
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As one of the problems that negatively affects the world, climate change and the ecological and economic changes caused by a changing climate have become an issue that threatens our planet and humanity. For this reason, it has recently become a necessity to change policies regarding water, agriculture, and energy on a national and global scale. As it is known, agriculture prodction is similar to a factory working in atmospheric conditions. As a result, to adapt to the changing climatic conditions in terms of agriculture, it is necessary to breed new varieties that are highly tolerant to biotic and abiotic stress factors; to use new approaches and models that will adapt to possible changes in irrigation, fertilization systems and land plant use; to develop new perspectives on the fight against diseases, pests and weeds and the necessary infrastructure and research activities in these areas; and to increase financial support and national and international cooperation on these issues. Thus, realizing sustainable development has become a global priority in particular for agriculture. This Special Issue on “Green Agriculture for Sustainable Development: Cultivation Methodologies, Techniques and Improving New Varieties” will be a collection of primary research articles reporting hypothesis-driven investigations that provide new insights into sustainable agriculture and that determine productivity and properties for more exploitation. Review articles are also welcome, but they must be critical in approach and provide particularly new and far-reaching insights. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

Studies on green agriculture for sustainable development;
New breeding methods regarding drought and adverse climatic conditions;
Nature-friendly agricultural production techniques that will reduce carbon emissions;
New models for increasing yields in terms of restricted irrigation and fertilization;
New eco-friendly production models in land use and field management.

This research topic includes technologies and up-to-date methods that help to advance science in this field.

Prof. Dr. Nesibe Ebru Kafkas
Dr. Franco Capocasa
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

biotic stress
abiotic stress
breeding
resilient
cultivation methodologies

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2527 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Responses of In Vitro Strawberry Plants to Drought Stress under the Influence of Nano-Silicon Dioxide

by Sevinç Şener, Hülya Sayğı and Canan Nilay Duran

Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15569; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115569 - 02 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1059

Abstract

The aim of the study is to determine the effectiveness of nano-silicon dioxide (NaSiO₂) application on the tolerance of strawberry plants exposed to drought stress under in vitro conditions. Drought stress was induced with polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000). In the experiment, the effects of PEG 6000 concentrations (0, 4, 8%) and NaSiO₂ concentrations (0, 50, 100 mg L⁻¹) on in vitro strawberry plants were determined. Plants treated with PEG 6000 showed reduced vegetative growth parameters, but this decrease was reduced with NaSiO₂ application. The addition of NaSiO₂ enhanced shoot and leaf growth, SPAD index, and the leaf relative water content (LRWC) of in vitro strawberry plants. NaSiO₂ at 50 mg L⁻¹ induced the maximum shoot and root fresh weight (1.20 g, 1.24 g, respectively) and length (40.09 mm, 34.26 mm, respectively), leaves number (16.67 pieces/plant) and SPAD index 53.57 among 4% and 8% PEG applications. When the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were examined, the results showed that the application of NaSiO₂ enhanced drought stress tolerance by promoting certain antioxidant responses by increasing SOD and CAT activities under drought stress. Our results suggest that the application of NaSiO₂ can help maintain the devastating impact of drought stress and markedly enhance all the examined parameters in the Albion strawberry cultivar under in vitro conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies on Green Agriculture for Sustainable Development: Cultivation Methodologies, Techniques and Improving New Varieties)

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17 pages, 3062 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring Carbohydrate Concentration Fluctuations in Pistachio (Pistacia vera L. cv Uzun) for Deeper Insights into Alternate Bearing Patterns

by Mujgan Guney, Muhammet Ali Gundesli, Murat Guney, Salih Kafkas and Nesibe Ebru Kafkas

Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15300; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115300 - 26 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 633

Abstract

Alternate bearing (AB) is of great importance in horticulture and leads to fluctuations in yield variation. Although AB is a natural phenomenon to optimize resource allocation and improve crop productivity and profitability in plants, understanding the factors that influence AB can help in implementing effective management strategies to reduce the negative effects and promote consistent and sustainable production. This study aimed to investigate the variation in carbohydrate levels in various tissues of both bearing and non-bearing pistachio (Pistacia vera L. cv Uzun) trees during different periods of growth development in two consecutive years to gain a deeper understanding of their potential contribution to AB. Twelve 34-year-old pistachio trees, consisting of six “ON” and six “OFF” year trees, were accidentally selected from a pistachio orchard. The “OFF” year trees were induced two years before sampling to be in the “OFF” year state by artificially removing flower buds. Sucrose was the main soluble sugar in the different parts of the pistachio tree studied. In general, the amount of sugar was higher in the non-bearing year than in the bearing year. It was found that non-structural carbohydrates of trees decreased between June and July, resulting in flower buds to abscise. The amount of carbohydrates decreased during nut development in “ON” trees, indicating the possible role of carbohydrates in AB. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies on Green Agriculture for Sustainable Development: Cultivation Methodologies, Techniques and Improving New Varieties)

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19 pages, 5665 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Revolutionizing Agriculture: Leveraging Hydroponic Greenhouse Wastewater for Sustainable Microalgae-Based Biostimulant Production

by María Álvarez-Gil, Mario Blanco-Vieites, David Suárez-Montes, Víctor Casado-Bañares, Jesús Fidel Delgado-Ramallo and Eduardo Rodríguez

Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14398; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914398 - 30 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1706

Abstract

The current intensification in agricultural pressure has resulted in the addition of excessive amounts of nutrients. While hydroponic systems have become an agricultural tool to reduce this nutrient addition, the produced nutrient-rich drainage solution, which has a negative effect in water bodies, is still a barrier that needs to be overcome. A promising alternative for nutrient recovery is the cultivation of microalgae, which require a significant quantity of nutrients for their growth. Furthermore, their biostimulant properties enhance the circularity and sustainability approach. This study evaluates microalgae growth with a hydroponic drainage solution and the use of the resulting biomass as a source for biostimulant. Three microalgae strains were tested (Desmodesmus sp., Chlorella vulgaris, and Scenedesmus obliquus) and grown at laboratory scale (0.5 and 2 L) with drainage wastewater taken from hydroponic tomato crops. Measures of OD₇₅₀ and OD₆₈₀ revealed Desmodesmus sp. as the strain with the best performance, achieving 1.4 and 1.8, respectively, in the 0.5 L assay and 1.08 and 1.3 in the 2 L assay. These results were confirmed in another assay that compared Desmodesmus sp. growth in drainage wastewater and in control media. Then, Desmodesmus sp. was tested at industrial scale. Results show the columnar PBR reached 1.8 g·L⁻¹ compared to 1.1 g·L⁻¹ achieved with raceways. Finally, the resulting biomass was tested in a biocatalysis process for biostimulant production, suggesting an innovative system to use microalgae biomass cultured in wastewater as a valuable product such as biostimulant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies on Green Agriculture for Sustainable Development: Cultivation Methodologies, Techniques and Improving New Varieties)

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