scholarly journals By wind or wing: pollination syndromes and alternate bearing in horticultural systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1839) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Garcia ◽  
Bridget Re ◽  
Colin Orians ◽  
Elizabeth Crone
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yields ◽  
Pollen Limitation ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Alternate Bearing ◽  
Pollination Syndromes ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Perennial Plant ◽  
Horticultural Crops ◽  
Time Space

Cyclical fluctuations in reproductive output are widespread among perennial plants, from multi-year masting cycles in forest trees to alternate bearing in horticultural crops. In natural systems, ecological drivers such as climate and pollen limitation can result in synchrony among plants. Agricultural practices are generally assumed to outweigh ecological drivers that might synchronize alternate-bearing individuals, but this assumption has not been rigorously assessed and little is known about the role of pollen limitation as a driver of synchrony in alternate-bearing crops. We tested whether alternate-bearing perennial crops show signs of alternate bearing at a national scale and whether the magnitude of national-scale alternate bearing differs across pollination syndromes. We analysed the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations time series (1961–2018) of national crop yields across the top-producing countries of 27 alternate-bearing taxa, 6 wind-pollinated and 21 insect-pollinated. Alternate bearing was common in these national data and more pronounced in wind-pollinated taxa, which exhibited a more negative lag-1 autocorrelation and a higher coefficient of variation (CV). We highlight the mutual benefits of integrating ecological theory and agricultural data for (i) advancing our understanding of perennial plant reproduction across time, space and taxa, and (ii) promoting stable farmer livelihoods and global food supply. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The ecology and evolution of synchronized seed production in plants’.

scholarly journals Extension Plant Pathology: Strengthening Resources to Continue Serving the Public Interest

2012 ◽  
Vol 102 (7) ◽  
pp. 652-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Everts ◽  
L. Osborne ◽  
A. J. Gevens ◽  
S. J. Vasquez ◽  
B. K. Gugino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Pathology ◽  
Plant Disease ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emerging Diseases ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
Horticultural Crops

Extension plant pathologists deliver science-based information that protects the economic value of agricultural and horticultural crops in the United States by educating growers and the general public about plant diseases. Extension plant pathologists diagnose plant diseases and disorders, provide advice, and conduct applied research on local and regional plant disease problems. During the last century, extension plant pathology programs have adjusted to demographic shifts in the U.S. population and to changes in program funding. Extension programs are now more collaborative and more specialized in response to a highly educated clientele. Changes in federal and state budgets and policies have also reduced funding and shifted the source of funding of extension plant pathologists from formula funds towards specialized competitive grants. These competitive grants often favor national over local and regional plant disease issues and typically require a long lead time to secure funding. These changes coupled with a reduction in personnel pose a threat to extension plant pathology programs. Increasing demand for high-quality, unbiased information and the continued reduction in local, state, and federal funds is unsustainable and, if not abated, will lead to a delay in response to emerging diseases, reduce crop yields, increase economic losses, and place U.S. agriculture at a global competitive disadvantage. In this letter, we outline four recommendations to strengthen the role and resources of extension plant pathologists as they guide our nation's food, feed, fuel, fiber, and ornamental producers into an era of increasing technological complexity and global competitiveness.

Effects of temperature rise (+5°C) on millet growth and mycorrhization and soil microbial community of culture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Diatta ◽  
Hassna Mboup-Founoune ◽  
Sidy Diakhaté ◽  
Diégane Diouf
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Pennisetum Glaucum ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Soil Fertility Management ◽  
Vegetation Growth

<p>Our planet is marked by significant climatic variations, particularly with the warming of temperatures and the variation in rainfall. In sub-Saharan Africa, the impacts of climate change are more pronounced because agriculture is highly dependent on climate, hence its vulnerability to climate variability (Vanluwe et al., 2011). In the context of changing environmental conditions, the use of innovative agricultural practices to contribute to plant adaptation is necessary to support food security challenges. Agroecological practices to improve crop yields and sustainable soil fertility management. Soil is the main reservoir of biodiversity as it hosts a very high diversity of interacting living species, which can be distinguished according to their size, macrofauna, mesofauna and microorganisms that constitute a particularly important component of soil (Brady and Weil, 2002), particularly for the provision of ecosystem services to humans. This work is therefore interested in studying the contribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to the growth of millet (<em>Pennisetum glaucum</em>) under warmer temperature conditions and the behaviour of microbial community in soil of millet growing.</p><p>Millet is grown in a plant climate chamber and inoculated with a selected mycorrhizal strain.  These millet growing conditions were carried out in two different temperatures: 32°C (normal temperature) and 37°C (warmer temperature).</p><p>The results showed that in conditions of warmer temperature the inoculation induced a significant vegetative growth of millet even with a low intensity of mycorrhization and so it improves microbial nutrient mineralization mediate vegetation growth.</p><p>In soil of millet growing, a significant increase in microbial biomass with 42.7 in warmer temperature condition compared to control temperature 16.7. Results of DGGE shows also a soil abundance and SMB diversity of the total fungal community was noted under warmer temperature condition.</p><p>This study showed that climate variation may affect soil symbiosis but not the potential for promoting plant growth of fungi. The use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the one hand as a biofertilizer can be an alternative in the context of reducing chemical inputs in agriculture and developing ecologically intensive agriculture (EIA) and on the other hand an adaptive practice  to apprehend the predicted climate changes.</p>

scholarly journals Agricultural Practices in Lawngtlai Rural Development Block of Mizoram

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 01-08
Author(s):  
R. Lalthankhumi ◽  
Joseph Lalmalsawma
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Horticultural Crops ◽  
Shifting Agriculture ◽  
Development Block ◽  
Major Factors

Agriculture constitutes one of the major sources of income among the people of Mizoram. The areas used for cultivation in Mizoram are usually slashed and burnt down to ashes and are abandoned for years, the land is used and the same plot is re-use after 3-5 years. More than half of the total population is either directly or indirectly involved in agriculture. However, the income from agriculture is less than 5% of the State Gross Domestic Product (State Economic Report, 2015). In the last few decades Mizoram witnessed several changes in agriculture pattern as many farmers have been shifting from cultivation to small- scale agricultural farming. This paper highlights the transformation of agricultural practices and the major factors affecting agricultural production and attempt is made to examine the prevailing socio- economic aspects associated with farmers with special reference to Lawngtlai Rural Development Block and a questionnaire method was used for collecting relevant information for the purpose. The research found that there exist major transformations of agricultural practices in the last couple of decades. The cycle of shifting agriculture period has been shortened drastically. It is also revealed that farmers are gradually adopting settled farming from shifting agriculture and that government intervention and assistance has been increasing more and more in this field. It is suggested that agricultural practice be transformed from jhuming to settled farming and from cultivating the traditional crops to cash crops with governmental and institutional support for shifting to higher income in agricultural and horticultural crops.

Evidence for conformal invariance of crop yields

2006 ◽  
Vol 462 (2071) ◽  
pp. 2119-2143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter McCullagh ◽  
David Clifford
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Correlation ◽  
Conformal Invariance ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Gaussian Model ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Spatial Correlations ◽  
Range Parameter ◽  
Smoothness Parameter ◽  
Rate Of Decay

The aim of this paper is to study the nature of spatial correlation of yields of agricultural crops. The focus is primarily on natural or non-anthropogenic spatial variation, patterns that cannot be explained by topography, by variety or treatment effects, or by agricultural practices. Conformal invariance implies stationarity and isotropy, and also determines the rate of decay of spatial correlations. The resulting Gaussian model is studied empirically to see whether it describes satisfactorily the pattern of spatial correlations observed in field trials of various crops. By embedding the law in a larger statistical model, a convolution of white noise and the Matérn class having a range parameter λ −1 and a smoothness parameter ν , and by gathering data of sufficient range and quantity, the model predictions were tested. Twenty-five examples of crop yields are studied, including cereals, root crops and other vegetables, nut, citrus and alfalfa yields. At the scale of typical field trials, we find that non-anthropogenic variation is reasonably close to isotropic. Furthermore, we find consistent evidence that the range parameter tends to be large and the smoothness parameter small. The large value of the range parameter confirms Fairfield Smith (Fairfield Smith 1938 J. Agric. Sci. 28 , 1–23), who found that spatial correlation in agricultural processes decreases with distance, but at a slower rate than exponential. The small value of the smoothness parameter means that, by Matérn standards, agricultural processes are rough. For each of the examples studied, the limiting model fits the data just as well as the full model, in reasonable agreement with the hypothesis of the conformal model that ( λ ,  ν )=(0, 0) for all crops in all seasons.

scholarly journals Impacts of climate variability on growth and variability of agricultural productivity: a review

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rekha Kumari ◽  
Shruti Kanga
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Agricultural Productivity ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Seasonal Patterns ◽  
Climatic Parameters ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Rainy Days

In this paper a comprehensive review of different research papers, reports and articles associated with the impacts of the variability of climatic parameters mainly temperature and rainfall on agricultural productivity and its variability. In the high altitude and hilly regions due increase of temperature from low temperature, it makes those regions more favorable to more crop yield. Whereas in the planer region due to the increase of temperature the crop yields are getting affected to a greater extent. The rainfall is also having a great impact on the crop yield. However, due to irregular seasonal patterns, an increase in the number of dry days and extremely high rainy days are affecting the yield of almost every crop. Apart from temperature and rainfall, the crop yields are also affected by greenhouse gases, for example, carbon dioxide, carbon mono-oxide, methane, etc. In opposite to that, the high volume of agricultural practices can decrease the level of greenhouse gases and climate change.

scholarly journals RAINFALL TREND AND IT IMPACT IN KEFFI NASARAWA STATE

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-26
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Sufiyan
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Rainfall Trend ◽  
Integration Model ◽  
Trend Model ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
The World ◽  
Curve Model ◽  
Linear Integration

Rainfall is the vital ingredient and factor of soil nourishment on which crops are grown. The basic agricultural practices all over the world depend on rainfed cultivation for their sustainable development. This study focus on the rainfall trend between 2010 -2018 as it affects crop production in Keffi Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The time series analysis was conducted by using appropriate techniques of data collection and analysis. The linear integration model, quadratic trend model, growth curve model and regression analysis was applied to show the correlation between the rainfall and crop production in the study area. It was discovered that the period of rainy months have high correction and significantly fitted the model which indication high crop yields per harvest.

scholarly journals Efficiency of nano preparations in soybean growing technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-21
Author(s):  
S. M. Kalenska ◽  
◽  
N. V. Novytska ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Treatment ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Leaf Surface ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Mineral Fertilizers ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Leaf Surface Area ◽  
Soybean Plants ◽  
Sowing Seed

Nanotechnology is seen as one of the key technologies in the twenty-first century, which promises to improve traditional agricultural practices and offer sustainable development by improving management and conservation tactics by reducing agricultural resources costs. The creation and implementation of new environmentally friendly and technological nano preparation designed to increase the efficiency of plant nutrient use from mineral fertilizers and soil - is one of the ways to increase crop yields and the quality of agricultural products. The aim of the research was to determine the effect of pre-sowing seed treatment and fertilizing of sowings by nano preparation Avatar (micro fertilizer of carboxylates of natural acids), Iodis-concentrate (immunomodulator – a stimulator of growth processes), and Super Micro Plus (nanochelate fertilizer), and leaf apparatus formation of soybean Khorol variety. Field research was conducted in 2016–2020 in a stationary experiment at the NULES of Ukraine «Agronomic Research Station» in 10-field crop rotation and also in laboratory «Demonstration collection field of crops» of the Plant Science Department. As a result of the conducted researches, was established that the use of nano preparation Avatar, Iodis-concentrate, and Super Micro Plus for seed treatment and fertilizing intensified leaf surface formation and symbiotic apparatus activity of soybean plants. The obtained results confirm that the application of the complex of nano fertilizers Jodis-concentrate, Avatar, and nano-chelate fertilizer Super Micro Plus in the soybean fertilization helped to increase the yield, which indicates their unconditional effectiveness. The highest efficiency of nano fertilizers was shown by inoculation and seed treatment by Avatar with co-fertilizing Avatar +nano-chelate fertilizer Super Micro Plus, providing formation of 52.4 thousand m2/ha of leaf surface area of soybean variety Khorol, 69.7 pcs/plant tubers on the root system, 785 mg/plant of their weight and yield at the level of 2.79 t/ha.

scholarly journals Managing Plant Microbiomes for Sustainable Biofuel Production

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-13
Author(s):  
Kateryna Zhalnina ◽  
Christine Hawkes ◽  
Ashley Shade ◽  
Mary K. Firestone ◽  
Jennifer Pett-Ridge
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Bioenergy Crops ◽  
Bioenergy Crop ◽  
Ecosystem Impacts

The development of environmentally sustainable, economical, and reliable sources of energy is one of the great challenges of the 21st century. Large-scale cultivation of cellulosic feedstock crops (henceforth, bioenergy crops) is considered one of the most promising renewable sources for liquid transportation fuels. However, the mandate to develop a viable cellulosic bioenergy industry is accompanied by an equally urgent mandate to deliver not only cheap reliable biomass but also ecosystem benefits, including efficient use of water, nitrogen, and phosphorous; restored soil health; and net negative carbon emissions. Thus, sustainable bioenergy crop production may involve new agricultural practices or feedstocks and should be reliable, cost effective, and minimal input, without displacing crops currently grown for food production on fertile land. In this editorial perspective for the Phytobiomes Journal Focus Issue on Phytobiomes of Bioenergy Crops and Agroecosystems, we consider the microbiomes associated with bioenergy crops, the effects beneficial microbes have on their hosts, and potential ecosystem impacts of these interactions. We also address outstanding questions, major advances, and emerging biotechnological strategies to design and manipulate bioenergy crop microbiomes. This approach could simultaneously increase crop yields and provide important ecosystem services for a sustainable energy future.

scholarly journals ON-FARM TRADE-OFFS FOR OPTIMAL AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN MATO GROSSO, BRAZIL

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Carauta ◽  
Affonso Amaral Dalla Libera ◽  
Anna Hampf ◽  
Rafael Felice Fan Chen ◽  
José Maria Ferreira Jardim Silveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Simulation Experiment ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Economic Behavior ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Double Cropping ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Decision Variables

To keep yield advances, farmers in Mato Grosso (MT) have been adopting several technological innovations. Therefore, agricultural production systems in MT have become complex and dynamic since farmers have to consider the increase of decision variables when planning and implementing their farming practices. These variables are widely spread across many distinct topics, bringing them together and summarizing information from diverse fields of research has become a difficult task in farmers’ decision-making process. Therefore, we performed an Integrated Assessment simulation experiment with a region-specific bio-economic component to assess trade-offs between different agricultural practices in a double cropping system. The simulation experiment was carried out with MPMAS, a multi-agent software package developed for simulating farm-based economic behavior and human-environment interactions in agriculture. Crop yields were simulated with the Model of Nitrogen and Carbon dynamics in Agro-ecosystems (MONICA). Our simulation results show a trade-off between lower soybean yields with the flexibility of double cropping when soybean with shorter maturity cycle is introduced. Results also captured regional differences in terms of land use share of different crops and farm configurations of double cropping. These results provide key insights into a farmer’s decision-making process depending on a multitude of decision variables.

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