Agronomy

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable agricultural production and food security are universal issues of public concern all over the world. The integration and optimization of crop management practices to increase crop productivity are a future development goal of agriculture, and these practices will result in the production of substantially more food on limited land to sustain and meet the needs of the expanding world population. Crop growth, yield formation, farmland ecology and resource utilization are significantly affected by agronomic practices. Hence, the integration and optimization agronomic practices can promote crop yields and sustainable crop production.

This Special Issue, entitled “Integration of Agronomic Practices for Sustainable Crop Production”, aims to collect studies on yield formation and the physiological ecology responses of crops to crop management practices. This includes issues in the management of planting density, water, fertilizer, sowing date, mulching, soil conservation, conservation tillage, etc. Therefore, we welcome quality, highly interdisciplinary studies from disparate research fields. Original research articles and reviews are welcome.

Dr. Guoqiang Zhang
Dr. Peng Hou
Dr. Rongfa Li
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.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

14 pages, 3398 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Maize/Peanut Intercropping Affects Legume Nodulation in Semi-Arid Conditions

by Chen Feng, Guijuan Du, Yue Zhang, Liangshan Feng, Lili Zhang, Qi Wang, Wuyan Xiang, Wei Bai, Qian Cai, Tianran Sun, Zhanxiang Sun and Lizhen Zhang

Agronomy 2024, 14(5), 951; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14050951 - 1 May 2024

Viewed by 487

Abstract

Maize/peanut intercropping is practiced widely to increase land productivity and considered a sustainable way for using and saving resources through peanut’s complementary N source via biological N₂ fixation. Our study aims to understand how maize/peanut intercropping affects the nodulation of peanuts under water-limiting conditions and different nitrogen inputs. A two-year micro-plot experiment in 2015–2016 and a two-year field experiment in 2017–2018 were conducted to quantify nodulation in maize/peanut intercropping and sole peanut cropping under four N fertilization rates (N-free, low, medium, and high N) in rain-fed water-limited conditions. In the micro-plot experiment, intercropped peanuts increased nodule biomass compared to sole peanuts. The nodule number of intercropped peanuts was 51.6% (p = 0.001) higher than that of sole cropped peanuts, while nodule weights did not differ at high N fertilization rates and were lower in the no-N fertilization control. However, the results were different in the field experiment. Both the nodule number and single weight of the sole cropped peanut were 48.7% (p = 0.020) and 58.9% (p = 0.014) higher than that of the intercropped peanut. The ratio of the nodule weight to aboveground dry matter at the beginning peg in the dry year of 2017 was lower in intercropping than sole cropping, especially at low N fertilization rates. The potential increase in nodulation found in a well-controlled micro-plot environment might be limited by strong water and light competitions in field conditions. The results could contribute to the understanding of interspecific interactions in cereal/legume intercropping. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of Agronomic Practices for Sustainable Crop Production—2nd Edition)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 2321 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimizing Maize Yield and Resource Efficiency Using Surface Drip Fertilization in Huang-Huai-Hai: Impact of Increased Planting Density and Reduced Nitrogen Application Rate

by Liqian Wu, Guoqiang Zhang, Zhenhua Yan, Shang Gao, Honggen Xu, Jiaqiang Zhou, Dianjun Li, Yi Liu, Ruizhi Xie, Bo Ming, Jun Xue, Peng Hou, Shaokun Li and Keru Wang

Agronomy 2024, 14(5), 944; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14050944 - 30 Apr 2024

Viewed by 371

Abstract

Improving crop yield and resource utilization efficiency is essential for agricultural productivity. In the Huang-Huai-Hai maize region of China, optimizing planting density, nitrogen (N) application, and fertilization methods are key strategies for enhancing maize yield and N use efficiency. However, traditional approaches have often hindered these improvements. To address this issue, we conducted a study in Baoding, Hebei, from 2022 to 2023, focusing on planting density, the N application rate, and the fertilization method on grain yield, N use efficiency, water use efficiency (WUE), and economic benefits. The trial involved two planting densities: 6.0 × 10⁴ plants ha⁻¹ (D1, typical local density) and 9.0 × 10⁴ plants ha⁻¹ (D2). Five N application rates were tested: 0 (N0), 120 kg ha⁻¹ (N1), 180 kg ha⁻¹ (N2), 240 kg ha⁻¹ (N3), and 300 kg ha⁻¹ (N4). The control treatment (D1N4) utilized the local planting density and traditional fertilization methods. Our findings revealed a positive correlation between the maize yield and N application rate, with the maximum yields (13.78–13.88 t ha⁻¹), high WUE (24.42–29.85 kg m⁻³), agronomic efficiency of N (AE_N) (18.11–19.00 kg kg⁻¹), and economic benefits (2.44 × 10⁴–2.47 × 10⁴ CNY ha⁻¹) observed with D2N3 and surface drip fertilization. This was significantly higher than the yield and resource efficiency of traditional fertilization methods and saved fertilizer and production costs. Therefore, adopting surface drip fertilization, adjusting planting density, and optimizing N application rates proved effective in enhancing maize yield and resource utilization efficiency in the Huang-Huai-Hai maize region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integration of Agronomic Practices for Sustainable Crop Production—2nd Edition)

► Show Figures