The Future of Climate Resilience in Wheat

As the most widely cultivated crop globally - providing 20% of all human calories and protein - there is an urgent need to increase wheat’s resilience to harsher climates [1]. The risk of simultaneous crop failures due to heat and/or drought in global “breadbaskets” has risen and is projected to rise further [2-4]. Severe water scarcity events are predicted for up to 60% of the world’s wheat-growing areas by the end of this century [5]. Furthermore, for each 1°C increase in average seasonal temperature, it is predicted that wheat yields will decrease by 6% on average globally, and much more in some already marginal environments where wheat is a traditional staple food [6,7]. At the current rate of yield gain, wheat production is predicted to fall well short of future demand due to population growth alone. Emerging environmental threats only make the challenge harder. On top of this, demand by consumers, farmers and the food industry is predicted to increase due to wheat’s high grain-protein content relative to other cereals, wide growing range and adaptability to most environmental stresses. Since farmer adoption of improved cultivars is a critical part of adaptation [8], new and more targeted breeding efforts are needed to ensure that wheat's climate resilience is maximized [9-11]. This article briefly outlines research that has been conducted and current research needs to develop climate resilient wheat.

Assessment of Q(OP)D(PO) bleachability of softwood kraft pulp

Bleachability is evaluated as how easily a pulp sample is bleached and it depends on the structure of residual lignin and carbohydrates. Also, the bleachability varies depending on the bleaching sequence. ECF light sequences have been improved significantly in the recent years. However, we still don’t fully understand how ECF light bleach plants are optimally run. This work studies the bleachability of softwood kraft pulp in an ECF light bleaching sequence, (OO)Q(OP)D(PO). Three pulp samples with brown stock kappa number 27, 32 and 35 were bleached and studied for residual lignin, hexenuronic acid and carbohydrate content. It was found that in the bleaching stages that are highly delignifying, it is beneficial with a higher kappa number for the delignifying bleachability. However, in the bleaching stages where the objective is brightness increase, the brightness gain bleachability is improved by a lower kappa number. We also intended to determine which of the three samples had the best suited kappa number for this particular bleaching sequence. According to our results, the bleaching was most effective with kappa number around 32. Although an even higher kappa number resulted in higher yield after cooking, it seemed that this bleaching sequence cannot preserve the yield gain.

Bradyrhizobium japonicum AND PHOSPHORUS FERTILIZATION ON Vigna Unguilata (L.) WALP

This study aimed to estimate the association of P2O5 doses with and without rhizobia inoculation to maximize the agronomic performance and yield of cowpea on an Oxisol in the Cerrado region of Tocantins. The experiments were carried out in two periods during the 2014/2015 growing season at the Experimental Farm of Gurupi belonging to the Federal University of Tocantins, using the variety BRS Novaera. Inoculation was carried out with a standard strain recommended for cowpea. The experimental designs were randomized in blocks in a 2×6 factorial arrangement, with the first factor consisting of the inoculation (presence and absence) and the second factor consisting of six phosphorus doses (0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 kg ha−1 of P2O5), totaling 12 treatments with four replications. Total chlorophyll, leaf P content, flowering, hundred-grain weight, and yield were evaluated. Phosphorus fertilization had a positive influence on the total chlorophyll, flowering, and leaf P content of cowpea on the Oxisol in the Cerrado region of Tocantins. The application of 113.42 kg ha−1 of P2O5 provided a yield of 1,124 kg ha−1 in the first planting period, corresponding to an 83% increase. However, phosphorus fertilization and inoculation increased grain yield in the second period, with the maximum yield reaching 145.94 kg ha−1, obtained with the maximum effect dose of 123.04 kg ha−1 of P2O5, with a yield gain of 257.3%.

Genetics and Genomic basis of Stay-green Trait

Staygreen is one such trait in which genotypes possessing this trait maintain more photo synthetically active leaves (& less senescent) than genotypes not possessing this trait. Delay of leaf senescence also known as stay-green character, has been identified as an important component in the genetic improvement of several crops to promote stress tolerance and yield gain. Although the stay-green phenotype is superficially similar in all species and genotypes, the genetic and physiological routes the traits are diverse. Photosynthetically active leaves for longer period depends on the concentration of chlorophyll pigment absorbing sunlight for photosynthesis. An multi dimensional approach for studying the senescence pathway rather than studying only the physiological role made a significant role in improvement. Hence new approaches like genomics, proteomics and metabolomics studies are necessary to understand the various transcription factors involved in regulating the leaf senescence process. Therefore, this review has aimed to bring light to major aspects of the stay-green character, showing its potential use in plant breeding.

Assessing the Sensitivity of Global Maize Price to Regional Productions Using Statistical and Machine Learning Methods

Agricultural price shocks strongly affect farmers' income and food security. It is therefore important to understand and anticipate their origins and occurrence, particularly for the world's main agricultural commodities. In this study, we assess the impacts of yearly variations in regional maize productions and yields on global maize prices using several statistical and machine-learning (ML) methods. Our results show that, of all regions considered, Northern America is by far the most influential. More specifically, our models reveal that a yearly yield gain of +8% in Northern America negatively impacts the global maize price by about –7%, while a decrease of –0.1% is expected to increase global maize price by more than +7%. Our classification models show that a small decrease in the maize yield in Northern America can inflate the probability of maize price increase on the global scale. The maize productions in the other regions have a much lower influence on the global price. Among the tested methods, random forest and gradient boosting perform better than linear models. Our results highlight the interest of ML in analyzing global prices of major commodities and reveal the strong sensitivity of maize prices to small variations of maize production in Northern America.

Australian Lentil Breeding Between 1988 and 2019 Has Delivered Greater Yield Gain Under Stress Than Under High-Yield Conditions

The contemporary lentil (Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris) industry in Australia started in the late 1980s. Yield in farmers’ fields averages 1.2 t ha–1 nationally and has not increased over three decades. Lack of yield progress can be related to a number of non-mutually exclusive reasons: expansion of lentil to low-yielding environments, lack of genetic gain in yield, lack of progress in agronomic practices, and lack of adoption of superior technologies. The aims of this study were to (i) quantify the genetic gain in lentil yield since 1988, (ii) explore the variation in the expression of genetic gain with the environment, and (iii) identify shifts in crop phenotype associated with selection for yield and agronomic adaptation. We grew a historic collection of 19 varieties released between 1988 and 2019 in eight environments resulting from the factorial combination of two sowing dates, two water regimes, and two seasons. Across environments, yield varied 11-fold from 0.2 to 2.2 t ha–1. The rate of genetic gain averaged 20 kg ha–1 year–1 or 1.23% year–1 across environments and was higher in low-yield environments. The yield increase was associated with substantial shifts in phenology. Newer varieties had a shorter time to flowering and pod emergence, and the rate of change in these traits was more pronounced in slow-developing environments (e.g., earlier sowing). Thermal time from sowing to end of flowering and maturity were shorter in newer varieties, and thermal time from pod emergence to maturity was longer in newer varieties; the rate of change in these traits was unrelated to developmental drivers and correlated with environmental mean yield. Genetic gain in yield was associated with increased grain number and increased harvest index. Despite their shorter time to maturity, newer varieties had similar or higher biomass than their older counterparts because crop growth rate during the critical period increased with the year of release. Genotype-dependent yield increased over three decades in low-yield environments, whereas actual farm yield has been stagnant; this suggests an increasing yield gap requiring agronomic solutions. Genetic improvement in high-yield environments requires improved coupling of growth and reproduction.

Agrophysical Properties of Ordinary Chernozem as the Basis of Stability of Modern Agriculture

The optimal parameters of agrophysical soil properties are important for ensuring favorable conditions for plant development. This study found a significant impact of various tillage technologies on the agrophysical state of ordinary chernozem. The long-term use of the no-till technology decreased soil density in the arable and root-inhabited (0-60 cm) layers. Before sowing winter crops using the no-till method, the soil had the best porosity level - more than 57%. Due to the reduction of agricultural machinery passes through the field, the structural aggregates increased to 52.6%, which was 12.7% more than during the dump treatment. Improving the agrophysical state of the soil with the no-till technology had a significant impact on the water permeability of the soil and its water regime. When using the no-till technology, the best agrophysical soil properties in the arable layer had a decisive influence on the yield of the field crops. In 2006-2018, the no-till technology provided a steady yield gain of 3.1-5.2 kg / ha or 6.5-38.2%. The long-term use of the no-till technology ensured the conservation of the soil, demonstrating the environmental benefits of this technology. The optimal agrophysical properties of ordinary chernozem when using the no-till technology ensured the effective use of moisture, improved the field crop productivity, and enabled more effective conservation of arable land in the arid conditions of the Rostov region. Keywords: agrophysical soil properties, porosity, water permeability, productivity, no-till technology

An Industrial Scale, Mechanical Process for Improving Pellet Quality and Biogas Production from Hazelnut and Olive Pruning

The effects of a mechanical process on the solid fuel quality and anaerobic biodegradability of hazelnut and olive pruning were determined. The feedstock was treated using a two-stage dry milling process, followed by fractionation into four different products. The coarser products from the processing of both the raw materials, named C and M, were notable for the high reduction in both the ash and nitrogen content. Therefore, for hazelnut, they met the requirement of the EN ISO 17225-2 standard for both the industrial and residential pellets, whereas C and M from olive processing met the requirements only for the industrial pellet. The raw materials and the finest products from processing, named F1 and F2, were anaerobically digested in batch reactors under mesophilic conditions. The F2 product from hazelnut processing reached a methane yield of 118.1 Nm3 tVS−1, corresponding to a +70.1% gain over the untreated substrate, whereas F2 from olive pruning processing reached 176.5 Nm3 tVS−1, corresponding to a methane yield gain of about +93.5% over the untreated raw material. These results suggest that the investigated process could be successfully used to improve the quality of pruning and establish new markets for them.