Publications

The simple additive-dominance gene effects for metribuzin tolerance will help breeders to select tolerant lines in early generations and the identified genes may guide the development of functional markers for metribuzin tolerance.

Straw returning is an effective practice to sequester soil carbon in agricultural soils. However, the response of soil extracellular enzyme activities (EEAs) to straw returning and their linkages to soil carbon pools remain poorly understood. Here, we present a global meta-analysis on the effect of straw returning on soil hydrolytic carbon-acquiring (<em>C-acq</em>) EEAs and their relationships with soil carbon pools in agricultural ecosystems. On average, straw returning increased <em>C-acq</em> EEAs by 23.2%, soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) content by 29.2%, and soil organic carbon (SOC) storage by 21.1%, relative to no straw returning. The effect of straw returning on MBC content and SOC storage is best explained by their positive relationships with <em>C-acq</em> EEAs: when straw returning strongly stimulates <em>C-acq</em> EEAs, MBC content and SOC storage increase; conversely, when straw returning weakly stimulates <em>C-acq</em> EEAs, MBC content and SOC storage decline. Furthermore, soil pH and straw amount best predicted the straw returning effects on <em>C-acq</em> EEAs. Our results provide the first evidence that <em>C-acq</em> EEAs are linked to soil carbon increases under straw returning in agricultural ecosystems. Incorporating the soil microbial effects of straw returning revealed here on agricultural soils into Earth system models could improve predictions of soil carbon dynamics.

Grain Producers in export-oriented grain systems face mounting pressure to coordinate harvest logistics under growing climatic, institutional, and infrastructure constraints. These stresses are especially acute in regions with decentralised production, long transport routes, and limited receival and labour capacity. In such settings, logistics adaptability is not just an operational concern but a critical factor shaping farmers' access to markets and overall system performance. This study investigates how Western Australian (WA) grain farmers adapt their storage, freight, and delivery strategies in response to misalignments between on-farm decision-making and centralised grain logistics infrastructure. Using an abductive, mixed-methods approach—including 48 surveys, 19 interviews, and media and policy document analysis—we explored how farm-level decisions interact with institutional asymmetries and inflexible infrastructure. The design is theoretically informed by Actor–Network Theory to trace translations, enrolment and obligatory passage points among heterogeneous human/non-human actors, and by the Actors–Resources–Activities framework to map actor bonds, resource ties and activity links across inland logistics. The findings reveal that growers rely on on-farm storage, investment in mobile freight capacity, and tactical scheduling to manage seasonal bottlenecks and limited delivery access. These strategies are shaped by market signals, spatial disparities in receival infrastructure and transport options and behavioural heuristics that help farmers navigate institutional constraints. While such adaptations provide short-term resilience, they also create inefficiencies and reinforce systemic inequities in harvest throughput, export timing, and access to price premiums. This study contributes to ongoing debates on agricultural systems resilience by linking farm-level behavioural adaptation with infrastructure governance and logistics system design. It highlights the need for modelling frameworks—such as agent-based or participatory approaches—that reflect decentralised, spatially differentiated decision-making. Implications are drawn for transport planning, cooperative infrastructure policy, and the development of future decision-support systems tailored to export-reliant agricultural regions. • Record harvests test resilience of logistics amid unprecedented conditions • Farmers use on-farm storage and mobile freight to ease bottlenecks • Mixed-methods reveal heuristics in constrained farm environments • Spatial disparities drive uneven logistics and adaptation strategies

The conversion of monoculture rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) plantations into rubber-based agroforestry systems has become a common trend in forestry management in the past few decades. Rubber-Flemingia macrophylla (a leguminous shrub) systems are popular in southwestern China's Xishuangbanna region. The biogeochemical cycles of soil carbon and nitrogen in forests are mainly affected by their fractions. This study investigated the effect of introducing Flemingia macrophylla to rubber plantations of different ages on soil carbon and nitrogen fractions. The experimental treatments included R1 (young rubber plantation), RF1 (young rubber-Flemingia macrophylla system), R2 (mature rubber plantation) and RF2 (mature rubber-Flemingia macrophylla system). The results showed that the introduction of Flemingia macrophylla to rubber plantations of different ages significantly changed soil carbon and nitrogen fractions, improved soil labile organic carbon and nitrogen contents, and ameliorated soil environments. The average soil microbial biomass organic carbon, nitrogen and nitrate-nitrogen in the 0-10 cm soil layer during the experimental period was 38.9%, 55.5%, and 214.7% higher in RF1 than R1, respectively, and 22.1%, 22.2%, and 652.2% higher in RF2 than R2, respectively. Therefore, Flemingia macrophylla can be used as an alternative interplanted tree species within rubber plantations in similar environments of southeastern Asia.

To test the hypothesis that DNA markers associated with specific genetic make-up can be detected and used to discriminate genotypes, amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were produced for 14 accessions in Cicer echinospermum, a close relative of Cicer arietinum (chickpea). Six selective amplification primer combinations produced high polymorphism with average polymorphic loci of 77.2%. The polymorphism detected in this study enabled fingerprinting keys to be established to discriminate accessions within C. echinospermum. Results showed that molecular analysis using AFLP was a good and reliable technique to differentiate C. echinospermum accessions and to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships between them, which could help parental selection in chickpea improvement programs.

Plant microRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding and endogenous key regulators that play significant functions in regulating plant responses to stress, and plant growth and development. Heat stress is a critical abiotic stress that reduces the yield and quality of flowering Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis var. utilis Tsen et Lee). However, limited information is available on whether miRNAs are involved in the regulation of heat stress in B. campestris. A high-throughput sequencing approach was used to identify novel and conserved heat-responsive miRNAs in four small RNA libraries of flowering Chinese cabbage using leaves collected at 0 h, 1 h, 6 h and 12 h after a 38 °C heat-stress treatment. The analysis identified 41 conserved miRNAs (belonging to 19 MIR families), of which MIR156, MIR159, MIR168, MIR171 and MIR1885 had the most abundant molecules. Prediction and evaluation of novel miRNAs using the unannotated reads resulted in 18 candidate miRNAs. Differential expression analysis showed that most of the identified miRNAs were downregulated in heat-treated groups. To better understand functional importance, bioinformatic analysis predicted 432 unique putative target miRNAs involved in cells, cell parts, catalytic activity, cellular processes and abiotic stress responses. Furthermore, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes maps of flowering Chinese cabbage identified the significant role of miRNAs in stress adaptation and stress tolerance, and in several mitogen-activated protein kinases signaling pathways including cell death. This work presents a comprehensive study of the miRNAs for understanding the regulatory mechanisms and their participation in the heat stress of flowering Chinese cabbage.

Low availability of inorganic phosphorus (P) is considered a major constraint for crop productivity worldwide. A unique set of 266 chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes, originating from 29 countries and with diverse genetic background, were used to study P-use efficiency. Plants were grown in pots containing sterilized river sand supplied with P at a rate of 10 μg P g^-1 soil as FePO₄ , a poorly soluble form of P. The results showed large genotypic variation in plant growth, shoot P content, physiological P-use efficiency, and P-utilization efficiency in response to low P supply. Further investigation of a subset of 100 chickpea genotypes with contrasting growth performance showed significant differences in photosynthetic rate and photosynthetic P-use efficiency. A positive correlation was found between leaf P concentration and transpiration rate of the young fully expanded leaves. For the first time, our study has suggested a role of leaf transpiration in P acquisition, consistent with transpiration-driven mass flow in chickpea grown in low-P sandy soils. The identification of 6 genotypes with high plant growth, P-acquisition, and P-utilization efficiency suggests that the chickpea reference set can be used in breeding programmes to improve both P-acquisition and P-utilization efficiency under low-P conditions.

Additional file 7: Supplementary Table 7. List of SSR markers used in genotyping diverse rice panels (Panel I and II).