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The coupling coordination of agricultural technology innovation with food security is of great significance for high-quality agricultural development. By identifying the coupling coordination relationship between the two systems and the influencing factors, this paper aims to promote the virtuous cycle of coordinated development between regional agriculture and technology, as well as accelerate the realisation of high-quality development of Chinese agriculture. Therefore, this paper explores the spatial and temporal coupling characteristics of the two using the entropy value method, coupling coordination degree model, and exploratory spatial data analysis, and it screens for important influencing factors using the grey correlation model. The main results show that ① the coupling coordination relationship between agricultural technology innovation and food security in China is at a dissonant stage, but the value of the coupling coordination degree increases from 0.2076 to 0.3437 during the period of study, and the level of coordination gradually improves. ② The degree of coupling coordination in the provincial space exhibits a distribution pattern of "high in the east and low in the west". The areas of high value are primarily situated in the provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu, and other provinces along the southeastern coast of China, while the areas of low value are mainly located in the provinces of Qinghai, Ningxia, and other provinces in inland northwest China. ③ The Moran's index of provincial coupling coordination is greater than 0, showing a certain positive correlation, and there is a significant pattern of spatial aggregation. ④ The correlation coefficients between the influencing factors and the degree of coupling coordination are all greater than 0.35, indicating a moderate or high correlation, but the significance of technological support capacity and food distribution security increased over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving agricultural energy efficiency is essential in reducing energy consumption and achieving agricultural sustainable development. This paper aims to measure the agricultural total-factor energy efficiency in China rather than the partial-factor energy efficiency while taking full account of regional heterogeneity and to investigate the driving factors of agricultural total-factor energy efficiency. The empirical results showed that the average value of agricultural total-factor energy efficiency is 0.814 in China, and the technological gap ratio is 0.853. The regional difference in agricultural total-factor energy efficiency was quite obvious. Higher agricultural energy inputs are associated with higher agricultural total-factor productivity. The total value of potential agricultural energy savings in 30 provinces of China reached 1704.41 billion tons of standard coal. In terms of the absolute amount of agricultural energy saving, the amount was largest in the low-energy-input area, which was 113.87 million tons of standard coal, accounting for 66.81% of the total potential saving amount. Furthermore, we used the Tobit model to analyze the influencing factors of agricultural total-factor energy efficiency. We found that the proportion of agriculture to GDP has a positive impact on agricultural total-factor energy efficiency, while the per capita income of farmers, fiscal support for agriculture, the illiteracy rate of farmers, agricultural labor input, and agricultural capital stock have a negative impact on agricultural total-factor energy efficiency. Finally, we proposed policy implications in terms of agricultural technological progress, agricultural infrastructure, technical training, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maize field environment is complex. Weeds and maize have similar colors and may overlap, and lighting and weather conditions vary. Thus, many methods for the automated differentiation of maize and weeds achieve poor segmentation or cannot be used in real time. In this paper, a weed recognition model based on improved Swin-Unet is proposed. The model first performs semantic segmentation of maize seedlings and uses the resulting mask to identify weeds. U-Net acts as the semantic segmentation framework, and a Swin transformer module is introduced to improve performance. DropBlock regularization, which randomly hides some blocks in crop feature maps, is applied to enhance the generalization ability of the model. Finally, weed areas are identified and segmented with the aid of an improved morphological processing algorithm. The DeepLabv3+, PSANet, Mask R-CNN, original Swin-Unet, and proposed models are trained on a dataset of maize seedling images. The proposed Swin-Unet model outperforms the others, achieving a mean intersection over union of 92.75%, mean pixel accuracy of 95.57%, and inference speed of 15.1 FPS. Our model could be used for accurate, real-time segmentation of crops and weeds and as a reference for the development of intelligent agricultural equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the agricultural economy is hindered by various pest-related problems. Most pest detection studies only focus on a single pest category, which is not suitable for practical application scenarios. This paper presents a deep learning algorithm based on YOLOv5, which aims to assist agricultural workers in efficiently diagnosing information related to 102 types of pests. To achieve this, we propose a new lightweight convolutional module called C3M, which is inspired by the MobileNetV3 network. Compared to the original convolution module C3, C3M occupies less computing memory and results in a faster inference speed, with the detection precision improved by 4.6%. In addition, the GAM (Global Attention Mechanism) is introduced into the neck of YOLO5, which further improves the detection capability of the model. The experimental results indicate that the C3M-YOLO algorithm performs better than YOLOv5 on IP102, a public dataset consisting of 102 pests. Specifically, the detection precision P is 2.4% higher than that of the original model, and mAP0.75 increased by 1.7%, while the F1-score improved by 1.8%. Furthermore, the mAP0.5 and mAP0.75 of the C3M-YOLO algorithm are higher than those of the YOLOX detection model by 5.1% and 6.2%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective use of nutrient-rich crop straw is an important way to use resources efficiently and to sustain agricultural development. This meta-analysis study collected and analyzed the data of 6788 observations published in 238 peer-reviewed papers to investigate differences in soil C-N fractions and yields of paddy soils under different straw-return amounts. This large dataset was also used to quantify the degree of influence of factors such as climate characteristics, soil properties, N fertilizer application rates, straw-rotting agent addition, rice varieties, and straw return methods. The results showed that straw return amounts improved soil alkaline-hydrolysable N (7%), total N (10%), organic C (11%), the C:N ratio (8%), rice N accumulation (12%), and overall yield (18%). The most significant effect was in northeast China fields for total soil nitrogen (TN) content and yield with increases of 13% and 22%, respectively. We also found more effective N utilization and a greater rice yield when 220–260 kg ha−1 N fertilizer was applied with 20–30 kg ha−1 straw-rotting agent with the total amount of straw return. These findings have important implications for choosing appropriate conditions and field management practices and to improve rice yield in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering that worldwide the amount of sludge from sewage treatment plants has increased, which through storage pollutes the environment, solutions must be found for its management. In this paper, through an analysis of studies from the literature, we present an ecological method of recovery of sewage sludge (SS) in agriculture through vermicomposting with Eisenia etida, Eisenia andrei, Eudrilus eugeniae and Perionyx excavatus earthworms, thus we analyzed the possibility that sewage sludge can be transformed from waste into quality fertilizer that benefits the soil, plants, and people, thus being able to replace chemical fertilizers which, if applied to the soil, can acidify and pollute the soil and agricultural crops. We observed that the total nitrogen content of the phosphorus increased. Through the vermicomposting process, organic substances are rapidly decomposed and nitrogen mineralization is accelerated. We studied the impact of dewatered sewage sludge vermicomposting on pH value, electrical conductivity, porosity, moisture content, nitrogen content, water retention capacity, metal content, and the development of agricultural crops, highlighting the positive impact of vermicompost application on the soil. Adding vermicompost to the soil has been observed to improve plant development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rising shortage of water resources worldwide in crop-producing regions and the need for irrigation optimisation call for sustainable water savings. That is, the allocation of irrigation water will be an ever-increasing source of pressure because of vast agricultural demands under changing climatic conditions. Consequently, irrigation has to be closely linked with water-use efficiency with the aim of boosting productivity and improving food quality, singularly in those regions where problems of water shortages or collection and delivery are widespread. The present Special Issue (SI) contains 19 original contributions addressing water-use efficiency under challenging topic of sustainable irrigation management to meet water scarcity conditions. These papers cover a wide range of subjects, including (i) interaction mineral nutrition and irrigation in horticultural crops, (ii) sustainable irrigation in woody fruit crops, (iii) medicinal plants, (iv) industrial crops, and (v) others devoted to remote sensing techniques and crop water requirements, genotypes for drought tolerance, and agricultural management platform. The studies have been carried out in both field and laboratory surveys, as well as modelling studies, and a wide range of geographic regions are also covered. The collection of these manuscripts presented in this SI updates and provides a relevant knowledge contribution for efficient saving water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of introduced pulse varieties has made valuable contributions to the development of the global agricultural industry, and China is one of the largest pulse producers in the international market. A special type of pulse, the red kidney bean, has made a major contribution to improving the rural economy. Taking Kelan County, Shanxi Province, as an example, this paper expounds on the formation of the kidney bean industry and its impact on local development. The existing research used a qualitative case study (QCS) method to examine the driver and impact of kidney beans in the agricultural industry. This study found that (1) the development of the kidney bean industry has benefited from its adherence to a market demand-oriented strategy, focusing on breeding and retaining excellent varieties, and vigorously supporting the construction of technical systems and the cultivation of the main body of the industrial chain. Developing new varieties, creating brands, and industrial integration are the key driving forces for development. (2) The kidney bean industry promotes local development by increasing farmers' income, forming a more complete kidney bean supply chain, highlighting the brand effect, and promoting sustainable rural development. This study suggests that disease-resistant and mechanized-adapted varieties need to be developed in the future. Market and demand trends should be constantly monitored when determining reproductive paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is one of the three major industries in China, and its level of development occupies an important position in the development of the national economy. At present, China vigorously promotes the strategy of rural revitalization, which provides new opportunities for agricultural modernization. Since modern agriculture and regional economy are coupled in a mutually influencing and constraining relationship, this paper constructs a coupled and coordinated evaluation index system of agricultural modernization and regional economic development. Using the entropy value method and coupled coordination degree model, the comprehensive development level and coordinated development degree of agricultural modernization and regional economic development of 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and cities in China from 2011 to 2020 were evaluated, revealing the time evolution and spatial distribution characteristics of the two systems. The results show that: (1) In the past decade, China's agricultural modernization and regional economy have made some progress in terms of their respective development levels and the degree of coupling and coordination between them. (2) In terms of spatial evolution, there are obvious regional differences between the two systems, and the coupling coordination degree shows a "ladder" distribution pattern from the east to the central, northeastern, and western parts of the country. (3) Regions with a high level of regional economic development also have a relatively high degree of coupling and coordination between agricultural modernization and regional economic development. Our results provide insights into the economic effects of agricultural modernization in China and provide useful insights into the future direction of agricultural development programs in countries around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is the foundation of every country's survival and development. This paper analyzes the interaction between the business environment, agricultural opening-up and high-quality agricultural economy from the perspective of China's provinces. According to the panel data of 31 provinces and municipalities in China from 2009 to 2019, the empirical analysis was carried out based on the panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model. The results show that there is a quantitative interaction between China's business environment, agricultural opening-up and high-quality agricultural development, and the long-term time effect is very obvious. Specifically, (1) the impact of the business environment and the high-quality development of agriculture on itself is decreasing year by year. The agriculture opening-up itself has a strong impact and has always maintained strong stability. (2) The high-quality development of the agricultural economy has little impact on the business environment and the opening of agriculture to the outside world, but it has a certain stable and continuous effect. It is particularly important that the agricultural opening-up has an increasingly strong effect on the business environment and the high-quality development of the agricultural economy as time progresses. Therefore, we must always adhere to the agriculture opening-up. The regional business environment and the agriculture opening-up can jointly promote the high-quality development of the agricultural economy. The research results can provide a basis and reference for the central and local governments to formulate relevant agricultural development policies and provide a reference for relevant agricultural economic entities and enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering an expanding research and development pipeline of and growing practical experiences with genetically modified (GM) crops, governments in Sub-Sahara Africa have in recent years authorized various GM crop events for general, unconfined environmental release, and in a few cases, subsequent commercial variety registration and cultivation. These decisions are consistent with more business-oriented agricultural development policies aimed at turning agriculture into a leading driver of economic growth and wealth creation. Such policy reforms are also motivated by continent-wide initiatives described in this review paper, which emphasize seed sector reform, agricultural productivity growth, intra-regional trade, and agri-business development. While such policy developments spur a more proactive approach to introducing agricultural biotechnology, it becomes apparent that authorizing GM crops for general environmental release and commercial seed registration requires the harmonization of government policies in various sectors relevant to seed systems, most notably those affecting plant breeding research, testing, and variety release. Critical areas for such policy reforms and harmonization were analyzed in this paper, with associated recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally farmers have used their perceptual sensorial systems to diagnose and monitor their crops health and needs. However, humans possess five basic perceptual systems with accuracy levels that can change from human to human which are largely dependent on the stress, experience, health and age. To overcome this problem, in the last decade, with the help of the emergence of smartphone technology, new agronomic applications were developed to reach better, cost-effective, more accurate and portable diagnosis systems. Conventional smartphones are equipped with several sensors that could be useful to support near real-time usual and advanced farming activities at a very low cost. Therefore, the development of agricultural applications based on smartphone devices has increased exponentially in the last years. However, the great potential offered by smartphone applications is still yet to be fully realized. Thus, this paper presents a literature review and an analysis of the characteristics of several mobile applications for use in smart/precision agriculture available on the market or developed at research level. This will contribute to provide to farmers an overview of the applications type that exist, what features they provide and a comparison between them. Also, this paper is an important resource to help researchers and applications developers to understand the limitations of existing tools and where new contributions can be performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agrometeorological services, as part of weather and climate services, are expected to play a key role in supporting sub-Saharan agriculture facing climate change and variability. In the Sahel, smallholder farmers relying on rainfed crop production systems are particularly vulnerable to climate change and variability because of low resilience and coping capacity. The provision of agrometeorological services is growing across Africa, but they often remain inaccessible for the majority of smallholder farmers or are not very relevant to support on-the-ground decision-making. Our work aims to demonstrate the hypothesis that agrometeorological services can effectively improve agricultural productivity and sustainability provided that appropriate mechanisms are put in place to ensure access, uptake and action. The paper illustrates the case study of Burkina Faso, where the National Meteorological Service, with the support of the World Meteorological Organization, engaged in the provision of accessible, reliable and relevant agrometeorological services for farmers. The study demonstrates that farmers, even in remote rural areas, are willing to profit from weather and climate services for strategic and tactical decisions in agricultural management because of relevant economic benefit. These benefits can be summarized as a 40% reduction in production costs and a 41% increase in income. Results also highlight environmental positive impacts such as the reduction by 50% in the use of fertilizers. Nevertheless, the study concludes that in order to scale-up weather and climate services in West Africa, a new business model released from the development projects approach should be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breeding innovations are relevant for sustainable agricultural development and food security, as new, resilient production systems require crop varieties optimally suited for these systems. In the societal debate around genetic engineering and other plant breeding innovations, ownership of patents on the technology used in the hands of large companies is often seen as a reason that small breeding companies are denied opportunities for further improving varieties or that farmers are restricted in using such varieties. However, intellectual property (IP) systems may also be used as tools to ensure the use of good agricultural practices when cultivating the resulting varieties. This paper explores documented cases in which IP systems (plant variety rights, patents and brand names) are used to promote that innovative varieties are grown according to good agricultural practices (GAP). These include effective disease resistance management regimes in innovative crop varieties of potato in order to prevent or delay pathogens from overcoming disease resistance genes, management regimes for transgenic insect-resistant Bt or herbicide-tolerant crops to prevent the development of resistant pests or weeds, respectively. The results are discussed with respect to the influence of breeders on GAP measures through various forms of IP and the contribution and role of other stakeholders, authorities and society at large in stimulating and ensuring the use of GAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]