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Seed traits (ST) influence seedling establishment, population dynamics, community composition and ecosystem function and reflect the adaptability of plants and the environmental conditions they experienced. There has been a historical and global accumulation of studies on ST, but with few pertaining to visual and quantitative analyses. To understand the trends in the field of ST research in the past 30 years, we conducted a bibliometric analysis based on the Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E) database. The analysis provided annual publications, time trends for keywords, the most productive journals, authors, institutions and countries, and a comprehensive overview of the ST field. Our results showed that in the past 30 years, the number of publications in ST research has increased at an average annual growth rate of 9.1%, while the average number of citations per paper per year showed a rapid increase–slow increase–decrease trend. Keyword analysis showed that "germination" was the most popular research section. Crop Science ranked first among the top journals and Theoretical and Applied Genetics had greater influence in this area and more citations than other journals. The 10 most productive institutions were mostly located in the United States, China and Australia. Furthermore, the three countries also had the largest number of publications and citations. Our analysis showed that the research interests in ST have evolved from genetics and agricultural science to ecological research over the last thirty years; as more fields embrace ST research, there are opportunities for international and interdisciplinary collaborations, cooperative institutions and new advances in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into an innovative weed management approach should focus on a long-term ecological approach, taking into account the interaction between weed communities, crops, management actions, and environmental and socio-economic aspects for each specific agroecosystem [[7], [12]]. From 2018 to 2023, I Agronomy i published 323 papers in the areas of weed science and weed management. Other topics, like VRM (3%), BHM (6%), and INM (7%), confirm the current interest within weed science research towards alternative methods within an integrated and sustainable management approach. [Extracted from the article]

Wheat is the main grain crop in our country, and the traditional wheat yield estimation method is time-consuming and laborious. By estimating wheat yield efficiently, quickly and non-destructively, agricultural producers can quickly obtain information about wheat yield, manage wheat fields more scientifically and accurately, and ensure national food security. Taking the Xinxiang Experimental Base of the Crop Science Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences as an example, hyperspectral data for the critical growth stages of wheat were pre-processed. A total of 27 vegetation indices were calculated from the experimental plots. These indices were then subjected to correlation analysis with measured wheat yield. Vegetation indices with Pearson correlation coefficients greater than 0.5 were selected. Five methods, including multiple linear regression, stepwise regression, principal component regression, neural networks and random forests, were used to construct wheat yield estimation models. Among the methods used, multiple linear regression, stepwise regression and the models developed using principal component analysis showed a lower modelling accuracy and validation precision. However, the neural network and random forest methods both achieved a modelling accuracy R2 greater than 0.6, with validation accuracy R2 values of 0.729 and 0.946, respectively. In addition, the random forest method had a lower cross-validation RMSE value, with values of 869.8 kg/hm−2, indicating a higher model accuracy. In summary, the random forest method provided the optimal estimation for wheat yield, enabling the timely and accurate pre-harvest wheat yield prediction, which has significant value for precision agriculture management and decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selenium is an essential trace element in human nutrition. Recent findings suggest that the biosynthesis of selenium nano particles (SeNPs) in plants might be a ubiquitous phenomenon. We investigated the potential of SeNP biosynthesis in food plants and our core objective was to explore the commonness and possible ubiquitousness of nano selenium in food plants and consequently in the human diet. By growing a variety of plants in controlled conditions and the presence of selenite we found strong evidence that SeNPs are widely present in vegetables. The shoots and roots of seven different plants, and additionally Brazil nuts, were analyzed with single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with a focus on edible plants including herbs and salads. SeNPs were found in every plant of our study, hence we conclude, that SeNPs are common ingredients in plant-based food and are therefore eaten daily by most humans. Considering the concerning worldwide prevalence of selenium deficiency and the great physiological properties of SeNPs, we see a high potential in utilizing this discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weed management is experiencing a paradigm shift, emphasizing the need to strike a balance between ecosystem services and the disservices offered by weeds. Although precision weed control has the potential to reduce herbicide usage by targeting weeds or patches more effectively and minimizing its application to surrounding areas, it does not contribute significantly to the progress of integrated weed management. 10.1111/j.1445-6664.2007.00249.x 13 Kudsk P. Advances in Integrated Weed Management1st ed.; Burley Dodds Science Publishing: Cambridge, UK. 2022 14 Korres N.E., Burgos N.R., Travlos I., Vurro M., Gitsopoulos T.K., Varanasi V., Duke S.O., Kudsk P., Brabham C., Rous C.E. New directions for integrated weed management: Modern technologies, tools and knowledge discovery. Ecologically-based weed management focuses on understanding the dynamics of weed populations, their interactions with the surrounding environment, and the contribution of weeds to ecosystem services [[16], [18]]. [Extracted from the article]

B After updating: b Conceptualization, S.M.H.; validation, E.B., M.G. and S.M.H.; formal analysis, S.M.H. and P.Z.; data curation and visualization, M.G. and C.P.; writing - review and editing, S.M.H., E.B.; C.P. and P.Z.; project administration, S.M.H. and M.R.N. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. The correct authors and affiliations are as follows: Seyed Mohammad Hashemi 1,*, Mohammad Reza Naghavi 2,*, Esmaeil Bakhshandeh 3, Mehdi Ghorbani 2, Chanditha Priyanatha 1 and Peiman Zandi 4,5 1 Department of Plant Agriculture, Ontario Agriculture College, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada; cpriyana@uoguelph.ca 2 Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj 31587-77871, Iran; mghorbani 90@ut.ac.ir 3 Genetics and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute of Tabarestan, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari 4818166996, Iran; e.bakhshandeh@sanru.ac.ir 4 Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Crop and Soil Sciences, Bundesallee 69, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany; z rice b@yahoo.com 5 International Faculty of Applied Technology, Yibin Unversity, Yibin 644000, China * Correspondence: seyedh@uoguelph.ca (S.M.H.); mnaghavi@ut.ac.ir (M.R.N.) Besides, we updated the Section "Author Contributions": B Before updating: b Conceptualization, S.M.H.; validation, M.G. and S.M.H.; formal analysis, S.M.H. and P.Z.; data curation and visualization, M.G. and C.P.; writing - review and editing, S.M.H., C.P. and P.Z.; project administration, S.M.H. and M.R.N. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. [Extracted from the article]

Nanoparticle-based seed priming has opened new avenues in crop science due to their plant growth promoting potential. Similarly, biopolymers such as chitosan (CS) are widely studied as seed priming agents due to the biodegradable and biocompatible nature, ability to enhance germination percentage and overall seedling health. Therefore, priming with chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) is a promising tool to enhance overall plant health. Here, we studied the effect of nanopriming with CNPs or CS (50 µg/mL) on morphological, physiological, and biochemical parameters of rice seedlings, grown in salinity stress conditions NaCl (0–250 mM). CNPs were synthesized using an ionic gelation method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (50–100 nm), zeta potential analyser (Particle size distribution–373.5 ± 3.7 nm; polydispersity index- > 0.4; zeta potential–45.3 ± 2.5 mV) and profilometry (300–1500 nm hydrodynamic height). Morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses of rice seedlings grown from seeds primed with either CNPs or CS showed a positive effect on germination, seedling vigour, biochemical and antioxidant responses. Seeds primed with CNPs and CS demonstrated significantly higher germination potential and seedling vigour compared to control hydro-primed seeds when grown under increasing NaCl concentrations. These outcomes highlight that CNPs and CS can be used as potential seed priming agents to alleviate salinity stress in rice seedlings. However, further studies are warranted to understand the effect of CNPs and CS seed priming on the overall growth and development of rice plants as well as rice yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) has evolved in many ways and in several directions over the past two decades, this review follows the software-naming convention of labeling SRI's different and subsequent versions as SRI 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, etc. In agroecology as with software, variants are not necessarily linear and can establish new directions as well as the further evolution of existing ones. This overview reviews how rainfed SRI, direct-seeded SRI, mechanized SRI, and other modifications of the initial SRI methodology have emerged since 2000, and how versions of SRI have been improvised to improve the production of other crops beyond rice, like wheat, finger millet, maize, and sugar cane. SRI thinking and practices are also being incorporated into diversified farming systems, broadening the logic and impact of SRI beyond monoculture rice cultivation, and SRI methods are also being used to achieve broader objectives like the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the conservation of biodiversity. SRI observations and research have been contributing to the crop and soil sciences by focusing attention on plant roots and soil ecology and by showing how crop management can elicit more desirable phenotypes from a given genotype. Cooperation regarding SRI among farmers, civil-society actors, scientists, private sector agents, governments, and funding agencies has begun introducing noteworthy changes within the agricultural sector, and this collaboration is expected to deepen and expand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superficial Tillage Is Worst Than Ploughing after a Long-Term CA Phase No soil disturbance ensures that weed seeds remain on the soil surface, a condition deemed to be unfavorable to weed germination [[60]], particularly for big seeds (Figure 1A). Rather than perpetuating the sterile debate between those considering CA through its means (i.e., the three pillars described above) and therefore banning the use of tillage, and those considering CA though its objectives (e.g., increasing soil health), and therefore, willing to consider a wider set of weed management tools (including occasional and superficial tillage), we highlight that little is known on the influence of tillage in fields previously conducted under CA principles. Conservation agriculture (CA) relies on three fundamental pillars [[1]]: crop species diversification (in time and space such as crop rotation and crop association, respectively; at least three different crops according to FAO [[3]]); permanent soil organic cover (more than 30% of the ground area must be covered immediately after the direct seeding operation [[3]], Figure 1C-G); and no-till (referring to low disturbance, no-tillage and direct seeding, the disturbed area must be less than 15 cm wide or less than 25% of the cropped area; no periodic tillage that disturbs a greater area than the aforementioned limits; strip tillage being allowed if the disturbed area is less than the set limits [[3]]). Improved Weed Regulation through Selection of the Best Crop/Cover Crop Cultivars Moving integrated weed management towards biodiversity-based agroecological approaches [[22]] to further reduce herbicide use will require the use of beneficial biotic interactions that naturally regulate weeds [[23]]. [Extracted from the article]

Pulses are an important source of protein and have recently gained international prominence. This paper jointly identifies the determinants of improved variety adoption, productivity and efficiency of 2700 pulse producers from 10 pulse-growing districts of Bangladesh using a Sample-selection Stochastic Production Frontier model. Result revealed that the decision to adopt improved pulse technology is significantly influenced by yield, farming experience, education and extension contact while subsistence pressure discourages adoption. Land, fertilizer, mechanical power, pesticides and labour are the significant determinants of improved pulse productivity. Productivity is significantly lower for improved varieties of lentil, blackgram and chickpea as compared to mungbean and for farmers who use own-sourced seed. Location of the growing area does matter. Improved pulse productivity is significantly higher in five of the ten districts. The mean level of technical efficiency of improved pulses is estimated at 0.73, implying that productivity can be substantially improved by eliminating inefficiency. Policy implications include investments in R&D and extension services by involving farmers in R&D endeavours and enhancing farmer-based seed production and distribution schemes to develop and disseminate improved pulse technology, improving farmers' education and tenurial reforms to facilitate smooth operation of the land market and mechanical power services to increase pulse productivity and production in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a form of land marginalization, abandoned cropland has an important impact on food security and the effective supply of agricultural products. With rapid urbanization across the world, large areas of cropland are abandoned in some regions, especially in mountainous and hilly areas with poor terrain. Due to the fine fragmentation and scattered distribution of abandoned cropland, and considering differences in the abandoned and fallow time of cropland, it is difficult to extract information using remote sensing technology. Therefore, this paper proposes a change in the detection method for extracting abandoned cropland information based on identifying the annual land use trajectory. Based on Landsat satellite data, annual land use was mapped from 2011 to 2020 in Gaolan County, which is located in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau of China, using the random forest classification method. Subsequently, abandoned cropland information in Gaolan County was extracted, based on the land use change trajectory and analysis of the influencing factors of abandoned land. The results showed that: (1) The overall accuracy of land use interpretation in Gaolan County ranged from 86.44% to 95.45%, from 2011 to 2020, with a kappa coefficient of up to 0.93, and the classification results were ideal. (2) The recall of extracted abandoned cropland was 81%, the extraction accuracy of which was relatively high. (3) From 2013 to 2020, the cropland abandonment rate in Gaolan County ranged from 8.41% to 19.65%, with an average of 14.55%, which increased and then decreased. The abandonment rate was highest in 2015 but it then decreased year by year. The average period of abandoned cropland was 4.2 years. (4) The influence factors of the plot scale explain the difference in the spatial distribution of cultivated land abandonment. The higher the slope condition, the lower the soil nutrient content and the greater the possibility of abandonment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization and population growth in China have raised great concerns regarding food security caused by the loss of limited cultivated land. In this study, we used remotely sensed data and an agricultural productivity estimation model to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of the conversion of cropland into urban land and quantify its impacts on agricultural productivity potential during China's rapid urbanization period, from 1990 to 2010. The results show that urban development has transformed approximately 4.18 Mha, or 2.26%, of the total cropland in China. From 1990 to 2000, approximately 1.50 Mha of cropland was developed, while roughly 1.8 times this amount (2.68 Mha) was converted over the period of 2000 to 2010. Most of the conversion is located in the central and eastern coastal provinces and is mainly concentrated on the periphery of the major urban areas. The transformation has, consequently, caused a 71.45 Tg, or 2.65%, loss of potential light-temperature agricultural productivity (PLTAP); losses were 24.33 Tg in the first decade of the study and 47.11 Tg in the second. At the provincial scale, the largest percentages of PLTAP loss are mainly concentrated in the developed provinces on the eastern coast, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Tianjin, and Jiangsu. Considering that these areas can accommodate more people and produce higher economic output on unit area of built-up land and, yet, scarce land that can be reclaimed, this study suggests that the dynamic balance of total farmland policy in China should be varied provincially according to the major function of the province. The policy adjustment will help maximize the utilization efficiency of land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Payload size and weight are critical factors for small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Digital color-infrared photographs were acquired from a single 12-megapixel camera that did not have an internal hot-mirror filter and had a red-light-blocking filter in front of the lens, resulting in near-infrared (NIR), green and blue images. We tested the UAV-camera system over two variably-fertilized fields of winter wheat and found a good correlation between leaf area index and the green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI). The low cost and very-high spatial resolution associated with the camera-UAV system may provide important information for site-specific agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 1996-2006 the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland, MTT Agrifood Research Finland and the Finnish Geodetic Institute carried out a joint remote sensing satellite research project. It evaluated the applicability of composite multispectral SAR and optical satellite data for cereal yield estimations in the annual crop inventory program. Three Vegetation Indices models (VGI, Infrared polynomial, NDVI and Composite multispectral SAR and NDVI) were validated to estimate cereal yield levels using solely optical and SAR satellite data (Composite Minimum Dataset). The average R² for cereal yield (yb) was 0.627. The averaged composite SAR modeled grain yield level was 3,750 kg/ha (RMSE = 10.3%, 387 kg/ha) for high latitude spring cereals (4,018 kg/ha for spring wheat, 4,037 kg/ha for barley and 3,151 kg/ha for oats). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice, the predominant food crop in India, is being grown traditionally with improper plant nutrient management mostly under the flooded situation. Recent advancement in research on crop science focuses on water-saving rice technologies for maximization in crop and water productivity under the backdrop of a shrinking water resource base for ensuring environmental and agricultural sustainability. Under this situation, an experiment was conducted in two consecutive years in a split-plot design keeping rice cultivation methodologies, viz., aerobic culture, System of Rice Intensification (SRI), and conventional flooded culture in main plots and integrated plant nutrient management (INM) treatments in sub-plots. The experiment was aimed at understanding the effects of different rice production systems and INM on nutrient content, uptake, and use efficiency. The change in soil quality parameters was also studied to understand the impact of crop establishment methods (CEM) and INM options. Significant reduction (p ≤ 0.05) in nutrient uptake and use efficiency was observed under aerobic culture compared to SRI and flooded method, although aerobic culture showed the highest physiological nitrogen use efficiency. Post-harvest available Fe status was significantly lower in aerobic rice (mean 10.39 ppm) compared to other crop establishment technologies; however, Zn status was higher in aerobic rice over the flooded situation. Although available potassium was not affected due to rice cultivation methods, available nitrogen and phosphorus status were influenced remarkably. Soil microbial quality was improved in aerobic rice in comparison to flooded rice. SRI proved to be the most efficient rice establishment method for enhancement in nutrient uptake, use efficiency, and enrichment of soil chemical and microbiological quality. Irrespective of crop culture, integrated plant nutrition in rice improved the nutrient uptake, use efficiency, and soil quality parameters. The study revealed that, under the alluvial soils of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of Eastern India, SRI can be considered as a water-saving rice production method. The method can also improve nutrient uptake, efficiency, and soil quality parameters if proper INM is adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural land in Europe is affected by low rooting depth (LRD) on 27.9 Mha. This marginal agricultural land can potentially be used to grow industrial crops without directly threatening food security or biodiversity conservation. However, little is known about the yield performance of industrial crops at LRD conditions. This study therefore compiles and discusses the meaningful data available in scientific literature. Twelve relevant industrial crops were identified for Europe. Currently, robust information on good growth suitability for LRD conditions is available for only one industrial crop, namely reed canary grass (RCG). Because this information was taken from field trial results from a single site, it remains unclear what role other growing conditions such as soil quality and climate play on both the yield level and the biomass quality of RCG under LRD conditions. These uncertainties about the quantitative as well as qualitative performance of industrial crop cultivation on marginal agricultural land characterized by LRD represent a major agronomic knowledge gap. Here, more knowledge needs to be compiled through both expanded crop science activities and improved international information exchange to make more optimal use of the large LRD areas available for the transition to a bioeconomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In accordance with the steep increase in scientific publications on the topics "bioenergy" and "bioenergy crops" from 2008 onwards, this trend is mirrored by the search topics "energy crops" and "biodiversity". Biomass always played a crucial role as an energy source during the evolution of humankind and our technical development. Even though intercropping has a long agronomic tradition in maintaining soil health and improving crop health and performance, the technique should further be employed for a sustainable biomass production allowing, for example, the reduction of nitrogen fertilizers when employing nitrogen-fixing legumes. The amelioration of marginal soils, considering biodiversity increases and intercropping approaches, should be implemented to meet the growing demand for plant biomass, thus paving the way to a social-ecologically more sustainable biomass production. [Extracted from the article]

Plant phenotyping deals with the metrological acquisition of plants in order to investigate the impact of environmental factors and a plant's genotype on its appearance. Phenotyping methods that are used as standard in crop science are often invasive or even destructive. Due to the increase of automation within geodetic measurement systems and with the development of quasi-continuous measurement techniques, geodetic techniques are perfectly suitable for performing automated and non-invasive phenotyping and, hence, are an alternative to standard phenotyping methods. In this contribution, sequentially acquired point clouds of cucumber plants are used to determine the plants' phenotypes in terms of their leaf areas. The focus of this contribution is on the spatio-temporal segmentation of the acquired point clouds, which automatically groups and tracks those sub point clouds that describe the same leaf. The application on example data sets reveals a successful segmentation of 93% of the leafs. Afterwards, the segmented leaves are approximated by means of B-spline surfaces, which provide the basis for the subsequent determination of the leaf areas. In order to validate the results, the determined leaf areas are compared to results obtained by means of standard methods used in crop science. The investigations reveal consistency of the results with maximal deviations in the determined leaf areas of up to 5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]