Agronomic Strategies for Improving Micronutrient Use Efficiency in Crops for Nutritional and Food Security

Author(s):  
S. S. Dhaliwal ◽  
Vivek Sharma ◽  
Gayatri Verma
Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1218
Author(s):  
Michael A. Kock

Plant related innovations are critical to enable of food security and mitigate climate change. New breeding technologies (NBTs) based on emerging genome editing technologies like CRISPR/Cas will facilitate “breeding-by-editing” and enable complex breeding targets—like climate resilience or water use efficiency—in shorter time and at lower costs. However, NBTs will also lead to an unprecedented patent complexity. This paper discusses implications and potential solutions for open innovation models.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 18883-18911 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Zhang ◽  
Z. Zhou ◽  
Y. Liu ◽  
X. Xu ◽  
J. Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract. Our understanding of how net global warming potential (NGWP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) is affected by management practices aimed at food security with respect to rice agriculture remains limited. In the present study, a 5 year field experiment was conducted in China to evaluate the effects of integrated soil-crop system management (ISSM) on NGWP and GHGI after accounting for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from all sources (methane, CH4, and nitrous oxide, N2O, emissions, agrochemical inputs, Ei, and farm operations, Eo) and sinks (i.e., soil organic carbon, SOC, sequestration). For the improvement of rice yield and agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), four ISSM scenarios consisting of different nitrogen (N) fertilization rates relative to the local farmers' practice (FP) rate were carried out, namely, N1 (25 % reduction), N2 (10 % reduction), N3 (FP rate) and N4 (25 % increase). The results showed that compared with the FP, the four ISSM scenarios, i.e., N1, N2, N3 and N4, significantly increased the rice yields by 10, 16, 28 and 41 % and the agronomic NUE by 75, 67, 86 and 82 %, respectively. In addition, compared with the FP, the N1 and N2 scenarios significantly reduced the GHGI by 14 and 18 %, respectively, despite similar NGWPs. The N3 and N4 scenarios remarkably increased the NGWP and GHGI by an average of 67 and 36 %, respectively. In conclusion, the ISSM strategies are promising for both food security and environmental protection, and the ISSM scenario of N2 is the optimal strategy to realize high yields and high NUE together with low environmental impacts for this agricultural rice field.


Author(s):  
R. Ford Denison

This chapter considers some of the challenges that agriculture is facing now or will face in the near future, including resource-use efficiency and food security. It begins with a discussion of the goals of agriculture, such as improving productivity (yield per acre, to use no more land than necessary), efficiency in the use of scarce resources (to use no more water than necessary, for example), stability over years (to prevent even occasional famines), and sustainability (to maintain all of these benefits over the long term). It then examines the effects of agriculture on everyone, not just farmers, as well as agriculture's underlying long-term problems such as those relating to food supply, food production, and transportation. It also looks at threats to sustainability, particularly those farming practices that lead to long-term decreases in crop yield. Finally, it offers suggestions for limiting the negative environmental impact of agriculture.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beyenesh Z. Kidane ◽  
Mereseit H. Hailu ◽  
Haile T. Haile

AbstractSmallholders have limited landholding in the highlands of Tigray and therefore there is a critical need to improve land use efficiency (LUE). One way to improve the LUE is through intercropping of companion crops including maize and potato. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the intercropping ratio as a means to improve land use efficiency during the 2012 cropping season. The treatments tested were three intercropping ratios of maize: potato in 1:1, 1:2, 2:1 row arrangement compared against the maize and potato only cropping. The objective of the study was to identify the best intercropping ratio that maximizes land use efficiency. Land equivalent ratio (LER) was used to compare the land use efficiency of the intercrops with each sole crop. The total yield of intercropped crops were greater than sole cropping, shown by LER>1. The overall advantage of intercropping ranged from 35 to 58%. The highest land equivalent value of 58% was recorded for one maize and two potato rows arrangements indicated a yield advantage of 58% over sole crop. The partial land equivalent value of both crops in intercropping was less than one indicating the cohesiveness of both crops in intercropping. Thus, it can be concluded that 1maize: 2 potato intercropping is a viable agronomic option in increasing land use efficiency and increased food security. It is, therefore, imperative to demonstrate the best treatment under farmer’s condition.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maoxing Zhang ◽  
Yin Wang ◽  
Xi Chen ◽  
Feiyun Xu ◽  
Ming Ding ◽  
...  

AbstractNitrogen (N) and carbon (C) are essential elements for plant growth and crop yield. Thus, improved N and C utilisation contributes to agricultural productivity and reduces the need for fertilisation. In the present study, we find that overexpression of a single rice gene, Oryza sativa plasma membrane (PM) H+-ATPase 1 (OSA1), facilitates ammonium absorption and assimilation in roots and enhanced light-induced stomatal opening with higher photosynthesis rate in leaves. As a result, OSA1 overexpression in rice plants causes a 33% increase in grain yield and a 46% increase in N use efficiency overall. As PM H+-ATPase is highly conserved in plants, these findings indicate that the manipulation of PM H+-ATPase could cooperatively improve N and C utilisation, potentially providing a vital tool for food security and sustainable agriculture.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zeeshan Mehmood ◽  
Ghulam Qadir ◽  
Obaid Afzal ◽  
Mohamed Ali Awale ◽  
Rana Numan Ashraf

Rice is the major staple food for billions of people worldwide. It has the social and economic impacts on people lives. Water scarcity is one of the major challenges to rice production and ultimately food security globally. For food security, it is important to explore efficient rice production technology that uses less water. Therefore, in the modern agriculture focus has been shifted towards development of water saving technologies. These methods include direct seeding, alternate wetting and drying, aerobic rice systems, use of mulches etc. These techniques reduce the water requirements and can enhance water use efficiency (W.U.E) of rice. However, yield may be compromised with these techniques, but research has been carried out to reduce yield losses and water use. Biotechnology and breeding approaches are being used to develop rice verities with drought tolerance, improved water use efficiency etc. Development and adoption of these technologies will shift the rice production from anaerobic to completely or partially aerobic systems. These techniques may reduce the water losses. In Pakistan famers are willing to adopt new technologies; however there is a need of dissemination and demonstration to adopt these technologies at farmer level to enhance crop productivity and water use efficiency. Innovative research approaches are required to fill the gaps in technological innovations and adoption


2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-158
Author(s):  
Alexander J. Scavo ◽  
Morgana Sidhom ◽  
Felipe J. Rangel ◽  
Alexandre Miaule ◽  
Christine Emuka ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Odilón Ojeda-Rivera ◽  
Gerardo Alejo-Jacuinde ◽  
Héctor-Rogelio Nájera-González ◽  
Damar López-Arredondo

Abstract Due to the importance of Phosphorus (P) on plant development and reproduction, global P security has emerged as a key factor towards global food security. Together with multiple agrochemicals, P-based fertilizers have become the pillars that sustain our food production systems. Therefore, improving the genetics and biology of key crops such as maize, rice, wheat and soybean to develop varieties better adapted to thrive under environments that present low phosphate (Pi) availability and that possess higher Pi-fertilizer use efficiency is imperative. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of Pi nutrition in plants, with particular focus on crops, and provide new perspectives on how to harness the ample repertoire of genetic mechanisms behind plant low-Pi adaptive responses that can be utilized to design smart low-Pi tolerant plants. We discuss on the potential of implementing more integrative, versatile and effective strategies by incorporating genome editing and synthetic biology approaches to reduce Pi-fertilizer input and enable global food security in a more sustainable way.


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