The nitrogen fertilizer conundrum: why is yield a poor determinant of crops’ nitrogen fertilizer requirements?
Agronomy for Sustainable Development blog
by mtaha
1w ago
Sustainable agriculture requires optimizing nitrogen fertilizer applications to crops. It is commonly assumed that higher yielding crops need more nitrogen, and smaller less, despite some evidence that optimum nitrogen applications are poorly related to yields. In contrasting experiments, we show that year-to-year climatic variations cause the poor correlations. New approaches to nitrogen recommendations are needed to account for this uncertainty. Thorburn, P.J., Biggs, J.S., Puntel, L.A. et al. The nitrogen fertilizer conundrum: why is yield a poor determinant of crops’ nitrogen fertilizer re ..read more
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Adapting agroforestry to upland farming systems: narratives from smallholder farmers in Northwest Vietnam
Agronomy for Sustainable Development blog
by mtaha
1w ago
We assessed farmers’ perspectives and experiences on the impacts of agroforestry adapted to upland farming systems in Northwest Vietnam, combining Q methodology and systems thinking. Farmers had different viewpoints on benefits and challenges of agroforestry. Yet, they underlined shared views on dynamics that leverage synergistic impacts and overcome the adoption challenges for better integration of agroforestry into local farming systems Do, H., Whitney, C., La, N. et al. Adapting agroforestry to upland farming systems: narratives from smallholder farmers in Northwest Vietnam. Agron. Sustain ..read more
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Reviewer acknowledgments—ASD 2023
Agronomy for Sustainable Development blog
by mtaha
1w ago
The editors-in-chief would like to sincerely thank all the reviewers who ensured the rigorous, considerate, and constructive evaluations of articles submitted to ASD during the year 2023. Through your voluntary work and the sharing of your skills, you have raised our standards, highlighted the novelty of research, encouraged authors to clarify their messages, removed uncertainties in data processing, and opened up new avenues of discussion. Your conscientious work has improved the scientific quality of the published research articles, reviews, and meta-analyses, rendering the journal more attr ..read more
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Agricultural technology as a driver of sustainable intensification: insights from the diffusion and focus of patents
Agronomy for Sustainable Development blog
by mtaha
1M ago
Patents can provide an important yet underexplored lens on agricultural innovation and development. Based on more than one million patents issued during the period 1970–2022, we explored the degree to which agricultural patents have related to sustainability targets over time. Only 4% of all patents related to sustainability targets, yet this has increased to 8% in recent years. Li, Y., Herzog, F., Levers, C. et al. Agricultural technology as a driver of sustainable intensification: insights from the diffusion and focus of patents. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 44, 14 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s1 ..read more
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Distribution of pesticides in agroecosystem food webs differ among trophic groups and between annual and perennial crops
Agronomy for Sustainable Development blog
by mtaha
1M ago
Pesticides threaten biodiversity, but their impact on agroecosystem food webs remains unclear. Our study reveals pesticides, including banned ones, enter local food webs from surrounding landscapes through diverse routes. Trophic groups and agroecosystem type influence the number of detected pesticides. We found that insecticides and fungicides bioaccumulate, while herbicides (bio)degrade. Our findings emphasize how species traits and agroecosystem characteristics collectively impact pesticide distribution in food webs. This study provides crucial insights into the ecological consequences of ..read more
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Diversity, adoption and performances of inter-row management practices in immature rubber plantations. A review
Agronomy for Sustainable Development blog
by mtaha
1M ago
The immature period of rubber plantations is rarely characterized and assessed, despite its significant economic and environmental impacts. Our literature review on inter-row management highlights a diversity of practices, with the drivers of adoption and the effects on the plots’ performances. Our findings reveal gaps in existing knowledge essential for a comprehensive understanding of current management in immature rubber plantations. Simon, C., Thoumazeau, A., Chambon, B. et al. Diversity, adoption and performances of inter-row management practices in immature rubber plantations. A review ..read more
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Landscape perspectives for agroecological weed management. A review
Agronomy for Sustainable Development blog
by mtaha
2M ago
The current research effort on agroecological weed management is largely rooted in agronomy and field-scale farming practices. This article reviews current knowledge of landscape effects on weed communities and seed predation. The ecological processes underlying landscape effects, their interaction with in-field approaches, and the implications of landscape-scale change for agroecological weed management are discussed. Boinot, S., Alignier, A. & Storkey, J. Landscape perspectives for agroecological weed management. A review. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 44, 7 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593 ..read more
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Intercropping indices evaluation on grain legume-small grain cereals mixture
Agronomy for Sustainable Development blog
by mtaha
2M ago
Intercropping is a farming practice where multiple crops are grown together in the same field. It has been extensively studied in recent years. Researchers have developed over 20 unique indices to compare intercropping with traditional farming practices. Our study collected data from previous intercropping experiments and evaluated those data on the existing indices. We found that the success of intercropping depends on factors such as crop density and ratio, and indices differ in the way that these factors are accounted for. To improve research in this area, it is important to establish a sta ..read more
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Soil erosion has mixed effects on the environmental impacts of wheat production
Agronomy for Sustainable Development blog
by mtaha
2M ago
This study is the first to encompass watershed-scale processes in the environmental assessment of wheat production and to address trade-offs between erosion losses and carbon burial in sediments. It demonstrates that soil erosion increases the greenhouse gas emissions of wheat by up to 60% to 80% and emphasizes the importance of erosion-control management practices.   Ruau, C., Naipal, V., Gagnaire, N. et al. Soil erosion has mixed effects on the environmental impacts of wheat production in a large, semi-arid Mediterranean agricultural basin. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 44, 6 (2024). https://doi ..read more
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Feasibility of mitigation measures for agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in the UK
Agronomy for Sustainable Development blog
by mtaha
3M ago
This review is briefly contextualised as follows: (1) Synthesising a novel, comprehensive, and searchable dataset on agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation measures whilst critiquing their feasibility of deployment (e.g., capital investment, operating costs etc.) as net-zero becomes a focal point for highly industrialised nations; to achieve this, the authors followed a strict standard operating procedure for systematic literature reviews. (2) Providing an open-access, informative, and comprehensive dataset for agri-environment stakeholders and policymakers to identify the most promising ..read more
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