Publications

Phenotypic variation and correlations among root traits form the basis for selecting and breeding soybean varieties with efficient access to water and nutrients and better adaptation to abiotic stresses. Therefore, it is important to develop a simple and consistent system to study root traits in soybean. In this study, we adopted the semi-hydroponic system to investigate the variability in root morphological traits of 171 soybean genotypes popularized in the Yangtze and Huaihe River regions, eastern China. Highly diverse phenotypes were observed: shoot height (18.7-86.7 cm per plant with a median of 52.3 cm); total root length (208-1663 cm per plant with a median of 885 cm); and root mass (dry weight) (19.4-251 mg per plant with a median of 124 mg). Both total root length and root mass exhibited significant positive correlation with shoot mass (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05), indicating their relationship with plant growth and adaptation strategies. The nine selected traits contributed to one of the two principal components (eigenvalues > 1), accounting for 78.9% of the total genotypic variation. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering analysis separated the 171 genotypes into five major groups based on these root traits. Three selected genotypes with contrasting root systems were validated in soil-filled rhizoboxes (1.5 m deep) until maturity. Consistent ranking of the genotypes in some important root traits at various growth stages between the two experiments indicates the reliability of the semi-hydroponic system in phenotyping root trait variability at the early growth stage in soybean germplasms.

Abstract Nearly 90% of the 390 million ha of grasslands in northern China are degraded. ‘Grazing exclusion’ has been implemented as a nature‐based solution to rejuvenate degraded grasslands, but the effectiveness of the rejuvenation processes is uncertain. Here, we investigated the effects of grazing exclusion on aboveground plant community traits, soil physiochemical and biological properties, and the mechanisms responsible for enhanced grassland rejuvenation. A meta‐analysis across various studies was used to assess the effectiveness. On average, grazing exclusion improved vegetation coverage by 18.5 percentage points and increased aboveground biomass by 1.13 t ha −1 and root biomass by 1.27 t ha −1 , which represent an increase of 84%, 246%, and 31%, respectively, compared with continuous grazing practices. Grazing exclusion reduced soil bulk density by 13.7% and increased soil water content by 68.9%. Grasslands under grazing exclusion increased soil organic carbon (SOC) in the 0‐ to 15‐cm depth by 3.95 (±0.35 Std err) t ha −1 and total soil N, available N, and total soil P in the 0‐ to 40‐cm depth by 2.39 (±0.14), 0.83 (±0.37), and 1.96 (±0.44) t ha −1 , respectively, compared with continuous grazing; these values represent an increase of 31%, 25%, 23%, and 14%, respectively. Prolonging the duration (years) of grazing practices enlarged the differences in SOC and soil N content between grazing exclusion and continuous grazing. Grazing exclusion has improved plant community traits and enhanced soil physiochemical and biological properties of degraded grasslands, and thus, this ‘nature‐based’ approach can serve as an effective means to rejuvenate degraded grasslands.

Abstract Ephemeral gully erosion is a significant form of soil erosion that visibly impacts soil productivity and restricts land use. While watersheds are fundamental for controlling soil erosion, past studies have focused on individual ephemeral gully or slope types, which do not fully represent changes in ephemeral gullies at the watershed scale. This research used remote sensing images (0.5 m resolution), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and field investigations to analyze the spatial–temporal evolution and development rate of ephemeral gully erosion at the watershed scale on the Loess Plateau from 2009 to 2021. Using spatial information and morphological parameters of ephemeral gullies obtained from the SegNet model, we found that: (1) ephemeral gully numbers decreased from 4495 in 1999 to 2312 in 2021 due to improved vegetation coverage; (2) average growth rates of ephemeral gully frequency, length, density, dissection degree, and width were 2.87 km −2 year −1 , 1.66 m year −1 , 0.12 km km −2 year −1 , 0.01% year −1 , and 0.04 m year −1 , respectively; (3) ephemeral gully erosion volume ( V ) and length ( L ) had a good power function relationship: . The root‐mean‐square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination ( R 2 ) between measured and predicted ephemeral gully volumes indicated that the V–L relationship has a good predictive ability for ephemeral gully volume; thus, the V–L model was used to evaluate the development rate of ephemeral gully erosion volume in small watersheds from 2009 to 2021, revealing an average value of 743.20 m 3 year −1 . This study presents an empirical model for assessing ephemeral gully volume and volume changes at a watershed scale using high‐resolution remote sensing images, providing a reference for understanding the development of ephemeral gully erosion in small watersheds over time.

Generated set of chickpea ESTs serves as a resource of high quality transcripts for gene discovery and development of functional markers associated with abiotic stress tolerance that will be helpful to facilitate chickpea breeding. Mapping of gene-based markers in chickpea will also add more anchoring points to align genomes of chickpea and other legume species.

Abstract The long‐term use of film mulching and conventional chemical fertilizers in semiarid regions has resulted in soil degradation and suboptimal fertilizer utilization, necessitating a reevaluation of agricultural practices to enhance resource utilization efficiency and ensure the sustainability of dryland crop production. We conducted a 5‐year study (2017–2021) field experiment in northwest of China, to assess the impact of straw or biochar incorporation on soil water accumulation, crop nitrogen transport, and maize yield under film mulching field. The experiment had six treatments (flat planting without mulching [NN], flat planting with straw incorporation [NS], flat planting with biochar incorporation [NB], film mulching [MN], film mulching with straw incorporation [MS], and film mulching with biochar incorporation [MB]). We undertook a comprehensive assessment over the two growing seasons in 2020–2021. The film mulching and straw/biochar treatments improved soil water storage. The MB treatment significantly decreased 60–200 cm soil NO 3 − ‐N content by 28.37% compared with MN. Biochar incorporation significantly increased soil total and alkali‐hydrolyzable N contents, whereas MS decreased soil alkali‐hydrolyzable N content compared with MN. The maize plant N transportation and grain contribution rates were significantly higher under MS (17.46% and 29.84%) and MB (28.00% and 31.69%) than under MN, respectively. Straw and biochar incorporation significantly increased water use efficiency, nitrogen fertilizer recovery efficiency, and maize yield, on average, by 9.62%, 9.14%, and 14.6%, respectively. In conclusion, incorporating biochar, in particular, positively mitigated N losses, enhanced N utilization efficiency, and increased maize yield in long‐term film mulching farmland in semiarid region.

Food waste management through composting and anaerobic digestion are sustainable waste management processes that can promote sustainable agricultural practices by recycling nutrients, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilisers, and conditioning soils. However, compost and digestate (anaerobic digestate effluent) are low nutrient value fertilisers, limiting their use within agriculture due to the large volumes required for land application. Alternatively, food waste-derived fertilisers could be used alongside chemical fertilisers to improve crop growth further and reduce demand on synthetic fertilisers. Therefore, this study evaluated the impact of food waste-derived fertilisers (compost, liquid digestate (LD), and solid digestate (SD)) on plant growth (Ryegrass) when applied at a rate of 50 kg N·ha−1 in combination with synthetic fertiliser (Urea Ammonium Nitrate (UAN)) at a rate of 0 or 50 kg N·ha−1. Ryegrass growth, soil chemistry, and rhizosphere microbial communities were investigated. SD in combination with UAN yielded the largest shoot biomass, while sole UAN at any application rate was not significantly different from the control. Beneficial plant growth phyla were in higher abundance in all treatments amended with food waste-derived fertilisers, and putative genes encoded for N fixing were found in higher abundances in all soil amendments compared to control. This highlights the value of food waste-derived fertilisers within agriculture. However, while drying would logically reduce costs associated with digestate transport, ammonia volatilisation led to significant N losses, reducing the fertiliser value of SD. Future studies should explore methods to mitigate ammonia valorisation to enhance the final fertiliser value of SD.

Sowing rate influences plant density, canopy development, radiation absorption, dry matter production and its partitioning, and seed yield. The canopy development, radiation interception, and dry matter partitioning of faba bean (cv. Fiord) were examined using 6 sowing rate treatments from 70 to 270 kg/ha in field experiments conducted over 3 years at Northam as part of a larger investigation of sowing rate responses in faba bean in south-western Australia. High sowing rates resulted in significantly earlier canopy closure, larger green area indexes, more radiation absorption, more dry matter accumulation particularly during the early vegetative stages, and greater seed yield than treatments where a low plant density was established. The results suggest that further increases in canopy development, radiation absorption, dry matter accumulation, and seed yield are possible by using sowing rates in excess of 270 kg/ha. The rate of node appearance was relatively constant within and across seasons (1 every 65·9 degree-days), whereas the number of branches per plant declined with increasing plant density, and less branches survived through to maturity at high density. The peak photosynthetically active radiation absorption (75-85%) measured at green area index of 2·9-3·8 in the highest sowing rate treatment in this study is similar to previous reports for other crops. The estimated radiation use efflciency (1·30 g/MJ) was constant across sowing rate treatments and seasons. High sowing rates produced tall crops with the lowest pods further from the soil surface than those at low plant density, and hence, mechanical harvesting was easier. The growth of individual plants may have been limited by the low growing season rainfall (266-441 mm) and/or low soil pH (5·0 in CaCl2) at the site, and competition between plants for radiation was probably small even at the highest sowing rate. Early canopy closure and greater dry matter production with high sowing rates may also cause greater suppression of weeds and aphids.

Ambient temperatures are predicted to rise in the future owing to several reasons associated with global climate changes. These temperature increases can result in heat stress- a severe threat to crop production in most countries. Legumes are well-known for their impact on agricultural sustainability as well as their nutritional and health benefits. Heat stress imposes challenges for legume crops and has deleterious effects on the morphology, physiology, and reproductive growth of plants. High-temperature stress at the time of the reproductive stage is becoming a severe limitation for production of grain legumes as their cultivation expands to warmer environments and temperature variability increases due to climate change. The reproductive period is vital in the life cycle of all plants and is susceptible to high-temperature stress as various metabolic processes are adversely impacted during this phase, which reduces crop yield. Food legumes exposed to high-temperature stress during reproduction show flower abortion, pollen and ovule infertility, impaired fertilization, and reduced seed filling, leading to smaller seeds and poor yields. Through various breeding techniques, heat tolerance in major legumes can be enhanced to improve performance in the field. Omics approaches unravel different mechanisms underlying thermotolerance, which is imperative to understand the processes of molecular responses toward high-temperature stress.

The rice (Oryza sativa L.)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system is the largest agricultural production system worldwide, and is practised on 24 Mha in Asia. Many factors have threatened the long-term sustainability of conventional rice–wheat cropping systems, including degradation of soil health, water scarcity, labour/energy crises, nutrient imbalances, low soil organic matter contents, complex weed and insect flora, the emergence of herbicide-resistant weeds, and greenhouse-gas emissions. Options for improving the yield and sustainability of the rice–wheat cropping system include the use of resource-conservation technologies such as no-till wheat, laser-assisted land levelling, and direct-seeded aerobic rice. However, these technologies are site- and situation-specific; for example, direct-seeded aerobic rice is successful on heavy-textured soils but not sandy soils. Other useful strategies include seed priming, carbon trading and payment, the inclusion of legumes, and eco-friendly and biological methods of weed control. Irrigation based on soil matric potential using tensiometers can be useful for saving surplus water in direct-seeded, aerobic rice. These options and strategies will contribute to resolving water scarcity, saving labour and energy resources, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, increasing soil organic matter contents, and improving the soil-quality index. Seed priming with various substances that supplement osmotic pressure (osmotica) is a viable option for addressing poor stand establishment in conservation rice–wheat cropping systems and for increasing crop yields. To strengthen the campaign for using resource-conservation technologies in rice–wheat cropping systems, carbon-payment schemes could be introduced and machinery should be offered at affordable prices. The persistent issue of burning crop residues could be resolved by incorporating these residues into biogas/ethanol and biochar production. Because rice and wheat are staple foods in South Asia, agronomic biofortification is a useful option for enhancing micronutrient contents in grains to help to reduce malnutrition.

ABSTRACT Drylands, encompassing 41% of global land and supporting over 2 billion people, face significant challenges, including water scarcity, extreme temperatures, and soil degradation. Dryland spans vast areas of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Sub‐Sahara Africa (SSA) regions and poses a threat to food security and resilience. This study examines the potential of neglected and underutilized species (NUS) to improve dryland food and nutrition security, focusing on their agronomic performance, water productivity, economic viability, and nutritional benefits. Using long‐term data from FAOSTAT, USDA Food Data Central, and peer‐reviewed literature, we analyzed trends in the cultivation, yield, and nutritional contributions of 26 NUS across 22 countries in the MENA region comparing them with major staples—rice, wheat, and maize. Between 1961 and 2022, NUS crop areas in MENA fluctuated, decreasing by 7.0% since 2018 to 21.17 Mha. Despite this, NUS demonstrated superior water productivity—up to 30% higher than major cereals. For instance, sorghum and cowpea achieved 2.5 kg/m 3 compared to maize (0.83 kg/m 3 ) and wheat (0.91 kg/m 3 ) and exhibited strong heat tolerance, withstanding temperatures of up to 42°C and 38°C, respectively. Despite a negative trade balance, NUS significantly contributed to dietary calories, surpassing wheat. A field experiment in Merchouch, Morocco, confirmed that NUS offered a higher economic value per unit than wheat, and outperformed conventional crops across key indicators. Integrating NUS into dryland farming systems can enhance food security, sustainability, and resilience to climate change. Advancing NUS requires breeding programs, tailored good agricultural practices, value addition and market linkage, supportive policies, and farmer education. Collaborative efforts among international organizations, governments, and civil society are crucial to mainstreaming NUS in agrifood systems and contributing to the diversity, sustainability, and resilience of dryland farming systems in MENA and SSA regions.