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Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Agriculture
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Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Agriculture

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2023) | Viewed by 17412

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Noppol Arunrat

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand
Interests: life-cycle assessment; carbon and water footprint; sustainable agriculture; climate change (impact, mitigation and adaption); soil carbon sequestration; crop modeling
Prof. Dr. Ryusuke Hatano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8589, Japan
Interests: organic matter management to enable soil carbon storage and improved crop productivity; appropriate land use management of peatlands
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Chunying Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Water Resources, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450045, China
Interests: appropriate agricultural water and nutrient management for improving crop productivity; water use efficiency; reducing non-point-source pollution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable agriculture aims to achieve three main goals, namely, environmental health, economic profitability, and social equity (Brodt et al., 2011). Agriculture has been facing several threats, such as climate change, water and land scarcity, soil degradation, urbanization and land use change, invasive species and diseases. While all these threats are daunting for the sustainability of food systems, innovation and technology may yield solutions in this era. In the classical sense, the innovation and technology for sustainable agriculture include appropriate land, water, and nutrient management; pest control; crop cultivar selection and development; and farm equipment to improve crop productivity. In addition, biotechnologies, digital technologies, renewable energy technologies, and mechanization are also valuable directions. Therefore, this Special Issue seeks to explore any potential practices, innovations, and technologies that can increase farm income, minimize environmental impact, and strengthen quality of life for farmers and communities.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Climate change impact, mitigation and adaption strategies;
  • Climate-smart farming;
  • Agricultural eco-efficiency;
  • Low-carbon agriculture;
  • Organic farming;
  • Urban agriculture;
  • Precision agriculture;
  • Values-based supply chains;
  • Nutrition and food systems education;
  • Soil nutrient management;
  • Water use efficiency;
  • Water quality management;
  • Social equity in agriculture;
  • Youth in agriculture.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Noppol Arunrat
Prof. Dr. Ryusuke Hatano
Dr. Chunying Wang
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

  • climate change
  • smart farming
  • eco-efficiency
  • carbon footprint
  • water footprint
  • soil carbon sequestration
  • crop modeling
  • organic farming
  • urban agriculture
  • precision agriculture
  • values-based supply chains
  • soil and nutrient management
  • integrated pest management (IPM)
  • water use efficiency
  • social equity
  • youth rights

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 4535 KiB  
Article
Simulation and Experiment of Fertilizer Discharge Characteristics of Spiral Grooved Wheel with Different Working Parameters
by Xuefeng Song, Fei Dai, Xuekun Zhang, Wenjie Gao, Xiangzhou Li, Fengwei Zhang and Wuyun Zhao
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11309; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411309 - 20 Jul 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1127
Abstract
Fertilizer particles have strong hygroscopicity and agglomeration often occurs during their storage, which leads to a blocked phenomenon during the operation of the external grooved wheel fertilizer discharger. In this study, the bond model of fertilizer block was constructed based on the discrete [...] Read more.
Fertilizer particles have strong hygroscopicity and agglomeration often occurs during their storage, which leads to a blocked phenomenon during the operation of the external grooved wheel fertilizer discharger. In this study, the bond model of fertilizer block was constructed based on the discrete element method (DEM) to further explore the effect of different working parameters of the spiral grooved wheel on the fertilizer discharge characteristics. According to the Box–Behnken experimental design principle, a three-factor and three-level simulation experiment was carried out with the factors of grooved wheel speed, grooved wheel section shape, and spiral rise angle. The simulation results showed the variation coefficient of fertilizer uniformity was affected, from important to secondary, mainly by the rotating speed of the grooved wheel, the cross-sectional shape of the grooved wheel, and the spiral rise angle. The broken rate of fertilizer block bond was affected, from important to secondary, mainly by the spiral rise angle, the cross-sectional shape of the grooved wheel, and the rotational speed of the grooved wheel. The optimal combination of working parameters was obtained by optimizing and analyzing the data; the rotating speed of the grooved wheel was 21 r/min, the scoop section, and the spiral rise angle was 70°. Under the best working parameters, the variation coefficient of fertilizer uniformity was 8.56%, and the broken rate of fertilizer block bond was 97.67%. The validation experiment results showed that the variation coefficient of fertilizer uniformity was 9.23%, the broken rate of fertilizer block bond was 94.28%, and the relative data error was less than 10%. The experimental results are close to the simulation results. The research results can provide a reference for the structural design and parameter optimization of spiral grooved wheel fertilizer discharger. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Agriculture)
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18 pages, 2931 KiB  
Article
Spatial Water Consumption Test and Analysis of Various Typical Vegetation in the Sanjiangyuan Region
by Liuyan Qu, Shaofeng Jia and Runjie Li
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5422; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065422 - 18 Mar 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1445
Abstract
Vegetation water consumption in the Sanjiangyuan Region is of direct significance to the utilization of local water resources. To measure the actual evapotranspiration of various typical vegetation with different vegetation types in the Sanjiangyuan Region, a Lysimeter was used between November 2019 and [...] Read more.
Vegetation water consumption in the Sanjiangyuan Region is of direct significance to the utilization of local water resources. To measure the actual evapotranspiration of various typical vegetation with different vegetation types in the Sanjiangyuan Region, a Lysimeter was used between November 2019 and October 2020. Additionally, the Penman–Monteith equation was used to estimate the condensation water of different vegetation types. Based on the measured data, this paper analyzes the spatial distribution of annual water consumption and annual runoff of various vegetation types. Furthermore, the spatial and temporal distribution of monthly water consumption of vegetation types on different underlying surfaces are discussed. To establish the relationship between the precipitation and runoff of various vegetation types, an artificial rainfall test was conducted. This study’s results reveal several key findings: (1) Condensation water is widespread and can be observed throughout the year. The annual condensation water volume ranges between 28.47 and 56.88 mm, which is particularly significant for the growth of alpine desert steppe and alpine steppe vegetation. (2) The annual water consumption in the Sanjiangyuan Region was higher in the south than in the north. Shrub water consumption was found to be 58.1–73.3 mm higher than that of grasses. Water consumption primarily occurred during the growing season, spanning from May to October. (3) The total water consumption in the growing season of the alpine meadow was less affected by precipitation compared to the non-growing season (from November to the next April). (4) The runoff yield can be ignored in the non-growing season when calculating water balance. However, during the growing season, the calculation of runoff cannot be ignored due to its significant impact on vegetation water consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Agriculture)
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15 pages, 941 KiB  
Article
Study on Balanced Allocation of Water Resources in the Yellow River Basin Based on Water Benefit Sharing
by Fang Wan, Yu Wang, Xiangnan Zhou, Xiaokang Zheng, Jian Wu and Lingfeng Xiao
Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 559; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010559 - 28 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1748
Abstract
In recent years, the shortage of water resources and the deterioration of water ecological environment have led to the increasing contradiction between supply and demand of water resources in river basins. How to realize the balanced allocation and scientific regulation of water resources [...] Read more.
In recent years, the shortage of water resources and the deterioration of water ecological environment have led to the increasing contradiction between supply and demand of water resources in river basins. How to realize the balanced allocation and scientific regulation of water resources in river basins is a serious challenge for China to face water resources problems. In this paper, the dynamic process and allocation scheme of water resources and water benefit allocation under different cooperative scenarios are simulated by constructing the water resources equilibrium allocation model of water benefit sharing. The influencing factors of water benefit sharing mechanism and the process of allocation compensation are studied, and the benefit relationship in regional coordinated utilization of water resources is revealed. The upstream, midstream and downstream water users of the Yellow River Basin are formed into alliances, respectively. Based on the principle of master–slave game theory, a basin system optimization problem with multi-level hierarchical structure is established. The initial allocation of water resources is carried out with the maximum overall benefit of water resources allocation, and the incremental benefits of the system optimization compared with the current individual and overall benefits are analyzed. The fuzzy cooperative alliance is used to allocate incremental benefits, improve the stability of cooperation among alliances, realize the cooperation and interaction of water resources in distribution, and finally achieve a dynamic equilibrium state. This paper focuses on the allocation mechanism of water resources competition and cooperation under water benefit sharing, which can provide a scientific basis for improving water resources security in water shortage basins and adapt to new problems and challenges brought by changing environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Agriculture)
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Review

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26 pages, 3196 KiB  
Review
Integrated Insect Pest Management Techniques for Rice
by M. Jamal Hajjar, Nazeer Ahmed, Khalid A. Alhudaib and Hidayat Ullah
Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4499; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054499 - 2 Mar 2023
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 11628
Abstract
In modern agriculture, climate change, environmental degradation, and natural resource depletion constitute one of the major potential issues for sustainable crop production and environmental management. Integrated pest management (IPM) is a promising technology for the environment. Insect pests and weeds have long posed [...] Read more.
In modern agriculture, climate change, environmental degradation, and natural resource depletion constitute one of the major potential issues for sustainable crop production and environmental management. Integrated pest management (IPM) is a promising technology for the environment. Insect pests and weeds have long posed a danger to rice production systems, resulting in severe output losses. Although insect, pest, and weed control has remained the most efficient plant protection tool, environmental risks have prompted scientists to propose alternate pest management options. The understanding of sustainable conventional agriculture prompted the broad deployment of integrated pesticide management (IPM). IPM is a multimodal pesticide management method that aims to avoid negative environmental impacts. This method is critical for delivering healthy, sustainable food to the world’s rising population. Rice is a staple crop that many developing countries rely upon for national stability and economic progress. On the other hand, rice pests represent a major biotic barrier to world rice production. This review aims to provide information on major rice pests, their identification, biology, and various IPM treatments, particularly biological management strategies. To create a sustainable rice agroecosystem, continual research and training on IPM technologies will be required. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Agriculture)
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