1,343 publications from this institution
High temperatures during seed filling are detrimental for seed yield and quality components in lentil genotypes, with severe impacts on heat-sensitive genotypes. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.
Water deficit affects plant growth and productivity and is the single most important factor limiting crop yields worldwide. To breed crops better able to cope with limited water availability, we need to know how water moves through plants and mechanisms that control water transport. This entry provides a summary of our current understanding of these processes. It briefly describes the way in which water flows through plants and soils due to gradients in water potential. Mechanisms that improve the retention of water within the plant and ways that the plant can manipulate the flow of water are also described. An emphasis is given to crop plants because improvement in maintaining the hydration of crops is important for efficient agricultural water use and greater productivity.
Summary. Several cool- and warm-season pulse crops (grain legumes) are grown in rotation with cereals and pasture forming sustainable farming systems in Australia. Australian pulse production has increased rapidly over the past 25 years to about 2 x 106 t/year, mainly because of the increase in the area and yield of lupin production for stockfeed purposes. Pulses currently comprise only 10% of the cropping areas of Australia and this could be expanded to 16% as there are large areas of soil types suitable for a range of pulse crops and new better-adapted pulse varieties are becoming available. Cool-season pulses will continue to dominate pulse production in Australia and the majority of the expansion will probably come from chickpea and faba bean industries. There appears to be no major constraint to pulse production in Australia that cannot be addressed by breeders, agronomists and farmers. Of the current major pulse crops, field pea faces the most number of difficulties, in particular the lack of disease management options. A recent strategic plan of the Australian pulse industry predicts the production of 4 x 106 t/year by 2005 but this will largely depend upon export demand and pulse prices. It is predicted that the growth in pulse production will come from increased productivity in the existing areas, from 1.0 to 1.4 t/ha, through improvements in crop management and the development of superior varieties. The area of pulse production will also expand by an additional 1.2 x 106 ha probably yielding 1.0 t/ha. If trends in grazing stock prices continue, the increased area under pulse production will mostly come at the expense of those areas under unimproved pasture and continuous cereal cropping.
Soil health is defined as the capacity of soil to function, within ecosystem boundaries, to sustain crop and animal productivities, maintain or enhance environmental sustainability, and improve human health worldwide. In agro-ecosystems, the soil health can change due to anthropogenic activities, such as preferred cropping practices and intensive land-use management, which can further impact soil functions. Previous assessment of soil health in agriculture mostly relates to soil eco-functions that are integrated with non-biological properties such as soil nutrients and soil structures. In recent years, biological properties such as soil microorganisms were considered as an essential composition in soil health as well. However, systematic reviews of soil health and its potential feedback to human society under different cropping practices are still limited. In this review, we discussed 1) the impact of common and novel cropping practices in agro-systems on soil health, 2) the evolution of plant–microbe–soil complex and the biochemical mechanisms under the pressure of agriculture that responsible for soil health, 3) changes in the concept of soil quality and health over recent decades in agro-systems and the key indicators currently used for evaluating soil health, and 4) issues in agroecosystems that affect soil health the most, particularly how various cropping practices have developed over time with human activities in agroecosystem. This knowledge, along with necessary policies, will help to ensure healthy soil—a crucial component for sustainable ecosystem development.
