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Advanced Plant Biotechnology for Sustainable Agriculture
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Advanced Plant Biotechnology 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 (30 March 2023) | Viewed by 7348

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Bangxi Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guiyang, China
Interests: soil remediation; waste resources for environmental remediation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Baige Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Interests: microbe–plant interactions; plant nutrient management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yutao Peng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agriculture, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
Interests: soil and water pollution control; soil microecology; analytical chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Increasing human population growth and rising incomes in developing countries have resulted in markedly increasing global food demand. It is estimated that the global food consumption will increase by ca. 47% during the period 2010–2050. Hence, sustainable, green and safe crop production should be guaranteed in practical agricultural activity, and the relevant research issues should be paid more attention in the scientific community. In addition, rapid industrial development, unsustainable agricultural activities and climatic extremes have generated serious threats to sustainable agriculture, such as salinity stress, heavy metal stress, soil compaction, continuous cropping obstacles, increased greenhouse gas emissions, heavy metals pollution, organic pollution, etc. Given this context, scientific research and technological development in sustainable crop production under stressed environments are significant and urgent. More environment-friendly methodologies should be proposed to guarantee more food production on the existing land base. Recently, plant biotechnology has aroused widespread interest and attention in the scientific community towards realizing sustainable agriculture. This Special Issue will also focus on research related to plant biotechnology (e.g., novel phytoremediation technology and mechanisms, insights into plant–microbe–soil interactions, sustainable agricultural management strategies, rhizospheric modifications and engineering, and the role of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria in sustainable crop production).

This Special Issue in the journal Sustainability will aim to gather a collection of high-quality works on sustainable agro-ecosystems through supporting crop production under polluted environments using advanced plant biotechnology.

We are pleased to welcome original and technical articles, reviews, short communications, and meta-analyses pertaining to the following keywords.

Dr. Bangxi Zhang
Prof. Dr. Baige Zhang
Dr. Yutao Peng
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

  • sustainable agriculture
  • biotechnology
  • phytoremediation
  • rhizospheric engineering
  • soil remediation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1401 KiB  
Article
Storage Time Affects the Viability, Longevity, and Germination of Eriochloa villosa (Thunb.) Kunth Seeds
by Yujun Han, Hong Gao, Yuechao Wang, Liguo Zhang, Jinrong Jia and Hong Ma
Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8576; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118576 - 25 May 2023
Viewed by 1389
Abstract
The effects of storage time on Eriochloa villosa (Thunb.) Kunth seed longevity and germination were investigated. A number of physiological and biochemical indexes, such as germination indexes, seed viability, storage materials, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and α-amylase (AMS) activity, were [...] Read more.
The effects of storage time on Eriochloa villosa (Thunb.) Kunth seed longevity and germination were investigated. A number of physiological and biochemical indexes, such as germination indexes, seed viability, storage materials, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and α-amylase (AMS) activity, were determined to investigate the mechanisms behind E. villosa seed longevity. The longevity of E. villosa seeds under indoor dry storage conditions was more than eight years. The vitality of E. villosa seeds decreased dramatically with increasing storage time. The malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration of the seeds increased dramatically with an increase in the storage period. The SOD, POD, CAT, and AMS activities significantly decreased over time, while the soluble sugar content first increased and then decreased. Storage duration significantly affected the soluble protein content of E. villosa seeds. The germination index of the seeds correlated with their physiological and biochemical indices and showed a significant positive correlation with the soluble sugar content, SOD, POD, and AMS activity, and a significant negative correlation with the MDA concentration. This study is of great importance for understanding the characteristics of the field seed bank of E. villosa and for implementing integrated weed control measures to contribute to sustainable agricultural development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Plant Biotechnology for Sustainable Agriculture)
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20 pages, 5047 KiB  
Article
Effect of Karst Microhabitats on the Structure and Function of the Rhizosphere Soil Microbial Community of Rhododendron pudingense
by Congjun Yuan, Haodong Wang, Xiaoyong Dai, Meng Chen, Jun Luo, Rui Yang and Fangjun Ding
Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7104; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097104 - 24 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1540
Abstract
Soil microbes play an important role in the microbial circulation and energy flow of ecosystems. In order to understand the change in the rhizosphere soil microbial community structure and function in the heterogeneous karst habitats, the nutrient content and enzyme activity were analyzed, [...] Read more.
Soil microbes play an important role in the microbial circulation and energy flow of ecosystems. In order to understand the change in the rhizosphere soil microbial community structure and function in the heterogeneous karst habitats, the nutrient content and enzyme activity were analyzed, and Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology was used to detect the composition, quantity and functional types of the rhizosphere soil microbial community in Rhododendron pudingense under three kinds of karst microhabitats (soil surface, rock gully and rock surface) in Wangmo Country (WM), Zhenning Country (ZN) and Qinglong Country (QL). The results showed that SS and RG microhabitats had a higher nutrient content and enzyme activity, while RS had the lowest. At the phylum level, Proteobacteria and Actinomycetes were dominant in terms of bacteria, while Ascomycota and Basidiomycotina were dominant in terms of fungi. There was no significant difference in microbial diversity among different karst microhabitats (p > 0.05). At the microbial genus level, there were some differences in species composition among the three karst microhabitats, which may lead to soil heterogeneity in karst microhabitats. WM was a little different from ZN and QL. The results of PCoA showed that the community composition of RG and RS was more similar to that of SS. There was no significant difference in microbial functional types among different microhabitats (p > 0.05). Only the abundance of pathothoph-symbiothoph fungi in RG was significantly higher than that in RS (p < 0.05). The main function of bacteria was metabolism, and saprophytic and symbiotic fungi were the dominant fungal group. In conclusion, soil organic carbon and alkaline phosphatase are important factors affecting the level distribution of microflora in different karst microhabitats. R. pudingense in the SS and RG microhabitats has better soil conditions, which may require protection for the plants in the RS microhabitat. The current study results can provide a theoretical basis for the adaptation mechanism of Rhododendron pudingense to the karst microhabitat. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Plant Biotechnology for Sustainable Agriculture)
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13 pages, 608 KiB  
Article
Optimal Fertilization Strategies for Winter Wheat Based on Yield Increase and Nitrogen Reduction on the North China Plain
by Xiaoqin Jiang, Jiuzhou Li, Zhichao An, Jun Liang, Xiaohong Tian, Yanling Chen, Yaping Sun and Yun Li
Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4199; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054199 - 25 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1687
Abstract
In practice, most Chinese farmers usually apply excessive fertilizers to ensure wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield, resulting in environmental impacts. How to maintain an even increase wheat yield with less fertilizers is still not clear. This study evaluated the yield, quality, nutrient [...] Read more.
In practice, most Chinese farmers usually apply excessive fertilizers to ensure wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield, resulting in environmental impacts. How to maintain an even increase wheat yield with less fertilizers is still not clear. This study evaluated the yield, quality, nutrient accumulation, and environmental costs of winter wheat under optimal fertilization management strategies. A field trial was set up with a randomized block design, constituted of eight different fertilization management strategies and four replicate plots. The results showed that optimal fertilization management strategy increased wheat yield and net benefit, and increased N, P, K accumulation, N and P fertilizer partial productivity and N and P uptake efficiency. Compared with the farmers’ practice, the yield in the different optimal fertilization management strategies was increased by 2.21–8.42% through improving the spike number or the grain number per spike. Meanwhile, the net benefit increased by 6.83–11.29% in different optimal fertilization management strategies. Furthermore, NO3− leaching and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission in the different optimal fertilization managements were reduced by 25.50–35.15%, 48.80–60.26%, and 29.60–38.36%, respectively. In conclusion, CF3, CF1, 90%CF1 fertilization management can not only achieve high yield of wheat, but also improve economic benefits and reduce environmental costs, which are effective fertilization management strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Plant Biotechnology for Sustainable Agriculture)
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10 pages, 830 KiB  
Article
Effects of Combined Applications of Biogas Slurry and Biochar on Phosphorus Leaching and Fractionations in Lateritic Soil
by Bangxi Zhang, Rongxiu Yin, Quanquan Wei, Song Qin, Yutao Peng and Baige Zhang
Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7924; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137924 - 29 Jun 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1844
Abstract
Diverse soil phosphorus (P)-leaching phenomena induced by environmental disturbance have gained increasing attention. Two kinds of typical organic materials, biochar and biogas slurry, (BS) are widely utilized to amend agricultural soil, but there is little research that gives insight into their co-effects on [...] Read more.
Diverse soil phosphorus (P)-leaching phenomena induced by environmental disturbance have gained increasing attention. Two kinds of typical organic materials, biochar and biogas slurry, (BS) are widely utilized to amend agricultural soil, but there is little research that gives insight into their co-effects on soil P-leaching and corresponding mechanisms. Herein, a total of six treatments (viz., control, 2% (w/w) biochar, low ratio BS with or without 2% (w/w) biochar, high ratio BS with or without 2% (w/w) biochar) were conducted to investigate the P-leaching and fraction transformation mechanisms. The column experiment results showed that compared to control, sole BS application or biochar both can slightly enhance the soil-P loss by 134.8% and 39.8%. High ratios of BS induced higher P loss than the low ratios of BS by 125.1%. In comparison with the sole BS treatment, combined BS and biochar application increase P loss but result in less soil leaching of basic cations. The incubation experiment results showed that the enhanced P-leaching in combined BS and biochar treatment is probably attributable to the enhanced soil pH, decreased DPS, soil P adsorption capacity, and transformation of moderately labile Fe–P into labile P. This research helps in understanding the abiotic process of biochar and BS in promoting soil P-leaching and soil-P management using biochar and biogas slurry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Plant Biotechnology for Sustainable Agriculture)
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