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Agriculture
Special Issues
Soil and Water Management Practices in Agricultural Production
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Soil and Water Management Practices in Agricultural Production

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2023) | Viewed by 10406

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Vladimír Frišták

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Trnava, Hornopotočná 23, 918 43 Trnava, Slovakia
Interests: pyrolysis; biochar; carbon sequestration; waste valorization; nutrients recycling; soil chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Martin Pipíška

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Trnava, Hornopotočná 23, 918 43 Trnava, Slovakia
Interests: remediation; biosorption process modelling; water contamination; heavy metals and radionuclides accumulation; biochar
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid increase in the world’s population brings with it the necessity for food production intensification. Suitable soil and water management plays a crucial role in the success of sustainable agricultural production. Excess water in agro-areas escalates the risk of erosion and nutrient runoff with subsequent negative effects on crop yields. Therefore, development practices that can control water motion and soil aggregate stability is required for water retention, nutrient fixation, and generally maintaining a healthy soil system. These practices can also assist with the adaptation of agronomy to the impacts of climate change by avoiding huge oscillations between seasons of water abundance and drought.

As guest editors of this Special Issue of Agriculture, we would like to invite researchers and scientists to publish papers on advances in the various tools used for soil and water management in sustainable agriculture.

Dr. Vladimír Frišták
Dr. Martin Pipíška
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. Agriculture 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 amendments
  • organic farming
  • nutrients recycling
  • ecological agriculture
  • water retention
  • nutrients runoff
  • eutrophication

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

8 pages, 721 KiB  
Communication
Zeolite and Ascophyllum nodosum-Based Biostimulant Effects on Spinach Gas Exchange and Growth
by Donato Castronuovo, Alessandro Comegna, Claudia Belviso, Antonio Satriani and Stella Lovelli
Agriculture 2023, 13(4), 754; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13040754 - 24 Mar 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1617
Abstract
Among the innovative practices of dry-farming in recent years, the possibility of the combined use of biostimulants and soil conditioners is assuming an important role. In a preliminary pot experiment, this study aimed to verify the combined effects of Ascophyllum nodosum-based biostimulant [...] Read more.
Among the innovative practices of dry-farming in recent years, the possibility of the combined use of biostimulants and soil conditioners is assuming an important role. In a preliminary pot experiment, this study aimed to verify the combined effects of Ascophyllum nodosum-based biostimulant and zeolite applied to the soil on gas-exchange and spinach growth. We also monitored the soil water content to study the effect on spinach soil water uptake. Pots were filled with soil to which zeolite and an Ascophyllum nodosum-based biostimulant were added. Spinach plants grew into pots and were subjected to four treatments: (1) soil plus zeolite at a percentage of 1%, (2) soil plus the biostimulant, (3) soil plus zeolite at 1% and biostimulant, (4) bare soil as control. The use of the zeolite and the A. nodosum-based biostimulant led to a higher (+10%) soil water content, highlighting the positive role in allowing a good water uptake by the spinach plant. Plant growth was not changed, while only photosynthesis showed an increase equal to 6% in spinach plants. These results are discussed with the soil water content variation according to modification induced by treatments. The combined use of zeolite and A. nodosum-based biostimulant can be considered a strategy to improve water storage and, at the same time, improve spinach cultivation in terms of sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water Management Practices in Agricultural Production)
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14 pages, 1098 KiB  
Article
Relevance of Pyrolysis Products Derived from Sewage Sludge for Soil Applications
by Vladimír Frišták, Diana Bošanská, Vladimír Turčan, Martin Pipíška, Christoph Pfeifer and Gerhard Soja
Agriculture 2023, 13(1), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13010089 - 29 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1960
Abstract
The recovery of sludge produced in the wastewater treatment process in WWTPs is often limited by the high content of toxic forms of contaminants of both an inorganic and organic nature. One of the options for the effective treatment of the world’s ever-increasing [...] Read more.
The recovery of sludge produced in the wastewater treatment process in WWTPs is often limited by the high content of toxic forms of contaminants of both an inorganic and organic nature. One of the options for the effective treatment of the world’s ever-increasing quantities of sewage sludge is the pyrolysis process. Thermochemical conversion of sewage sludge is emerging as a promising method for treating these heterogeneous and highly complex wastes with increasing research work. Pyrolysis-treated sewage sludge (PM) prepared at 603–615 °C was characterized by pH, EC, and CHN-S analysis; total and bioavailable concentrations of P and heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe and Zn); fractionation of bound forms of P and heavy metals in the material and determination of the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The studied material was subjected to ecotoxicological tests (Daphnia pulex L.) and cultivation tests (Lactuca sativa L.). Elemental analysis revealed the concentrations of heavy metals in PM: Fe (137,600 mg/kg), Zn (2602 mg/kg), Cu (582 mg/kg), Cr (107 mg/kg), Pb (87 mg/kg), Ni (67 mg/kg), As (<1 mg/kg), Hg (<2 mg/kg) and Cd (<1 mg/kg). The highest values of extractability of the investigated heavy metals from PM were found in the cases of Zn (HCl) and Fe (Mehlich 3), both values not exceeding 500 mg/kg. BCR sequential extraction showed the major concentrations of Cu and Fe were predominantly bound in the residual fraction (F4) and Zn in the reducible fraction (F2) of PM. The results of heavy metal bioavailability suggest that the addition of PM does not negatively affect the growth of lettuce biomass and the metal contents of plant tissues. Based on the results obtained, the pyrolysis material prepared from municipal sewage sludge seems to be a promising and innovative soil additive and a potential alternative to conventional inorganic fertilizers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water Management Practices in Agricultural Production)
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16 pages, 2894 KiB  
Article
Biochar Amendment Combined with Straw Mulching Increases Winter Wheat Yield by Optimizing Soil Water-Salt Condition under Saline Irrigation
by Zemin Zhang, Zhanyu Zhang, Genxiang Feng, Peirong Lu, Mingyi Huang and Xinyu Zhao
Agriculture 2022, 12(10), 1681; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12101681 - 13 Oct 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1809
Abstract
The freshwater deficit is the major constraint to winter wheat production. Saline water irrigation could alleviate wheat water stress while increasing the risk of soil salinization, which would result in wheat yield reduction due to additional salt stress. The objective of the present [...] Read more.
The freshwater deficit is the major constraint to winter wheat production. Saline water irrigation could alleviate wheat water stress while increasing the risk of soil salinization, which would result in wheat yield reduction due to additional salt stress. The objective of the present study is to explore the effect of a straw-returning mode to promote winter wheat production under saline water irrigation. A field experiment was conducted during the winter wheat growing seasons of 2017–2018 and 2018–2019. Four returning modes were set, based on an equivalent carbon input: straw mulching (SM), biochar amendment (BA), straw mulching combined with biochar amendment (SM+BA), and the control without straw-returning (CK), along with three salinity levels of irrigation water: 0.47 dS m−1 (I0, freshwater), 3.25 dS m−1 (I1), and 6.75 dS m−1 (I2). Saline water irrigation alone triggered soil salt accumulation and reduced the wheat grain yield by 9.43––18.19%. Returning straw to fields increased soil organic carbon content by 16.41––52.21% and decreased soil bulk density by 0.69––1.46%. The highest increase in wheat grain yield (16.60––21.80%) was always obtained when using treatment SM+BA, due to the increased soil moisture content (3.15––12.31%) and lower salt levels (24.79––44.29%) compared to CK. The results of the present study established that SM+BA provided better soil water–salt conditions and nutrient environment for winter wheat growth than a single treatment. Thus, the combined application of SM and BA was shown to be a proper mitigating strategy to cope with the adverse effects of saline irrigation on winter wheat production and to promote the sustainable use of saline water irrigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water Management Practices in Agricultural Production)
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15 pages, 310 KiB  
Article
Impact of Cultivation Practices and Varieties on Productivity, Profitability, and Nutrient Uptake of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) and Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Cropping System in India
by Ankit Saini, Sandeep Manuja, Suresh Kumar, Aqsa Hafeez, Baber Ali and Peter Poczai
Agriculture 2022, 12(10), 1678; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12101678 - 12 Oct 2022
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 3372
Abstract
Interest in conservation measures, including reduced tillage, zero tillage, and crop residue retention, is growing in major rice growing areas of the world; particularly in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Of late, research interest is increasing in India for a specialised method of cultivation known [...] Read more.
Interest in conservation measures, including reduced tillage, zero tillage, and crop residue retention, is growing in major rice growing areas of the world; particularly in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Of late, research interest is increasing in India for a specialised method of cultivation known as natural farming, which aims at maintain the functional biodiversity of the farm with little or no use of external inputs. With the increasing water crisis at a global level, it became imperative to develop technologies that can reduce the water use, particularly in water-guzzling low land paddy, by developing alternate cultivation methods; direct seeded rice is one such technology. A two-year field experiment was carried out at two locations during 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 to find out the impact of different cultivation and varieties on the productivity and profitability of the rice–wheat cropping system. The experiments were conducted in split plot design, replicated thrice, with cultivation practices in the main plot and varieties of both wheat and rice in the sub plot. The results so obtained reveal that conventional tillage significantly out yielded other methods of cultivation in both the crops at both the locations, while significantly lower grain yield in both crops was observed from natural farming. Adoption of reduced tillage, zero tillage and natural farming reduced the grain yield of wheat by 4.6%, 10.9%, and 59.4% over conventional tillage, while the corresponding decline in grain yield of rice was 10.8%, 16.1%, and 34.0% with reduced tillage, zero tillage, and natural farming, respectively. Among the varieties tested, HPW 368 and Him Palam Lal Dhan 1 (HPR 2795) produced significantly higher grain yield of wheat and rice, respectively, at both the locations during both years. Conventional tillage among cultivation practices and HPW 368 and Him Palam Lal Dhan 1 (HPR 2795) among wheat and rice varieties also proved to be better in terms of various economic indicators, including gross return, net return, and ratio benefit cost ratio (B:C ratio). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil and Water Management Practices in Agricultural Production)
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