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Freshwater shortage and soil salinization are the major constraints for alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) growth in coastal salt–alkali soil of North China. In this study, we analyzed the effects of shallow groundwater tables and alfalfa cultivars on forage yield and nutritional value. A field simulation experiment was conducted during the growing season of 2019–2021 with three groundwater depths (80, 100, and 120 cm) and five alfalfa cultivars (Magnum 551, Phabulous, Zhongmu No. 1, Zhongmu No. 3, and WL525HQ) under subsurface pipe systems. Alfalfa forage was harvested six times in total during the growing season. Results revealed significant variation among alfalfa cultivars for forage yield at each shallow groundwater depth. The greatest forage yield was recorded in cultivar Phabulous (32.2 and 35.9 t ha−1 in 2020 and 2021) when planted at 100 cm shallow groundwater depth. Forage yield during the first harvest was 24.6–25.7%, exhibiting the highest ratio of the total annual yield. The effects of shallow groundwater depth, cultivar, and their interaction were significant (p < 0.01) on the turn-green ratio of alfalfa. Cultivar Zhongmu No. 1 had the highest turn-green ratio at the 100 cm groundwater depth, while cultivar WL525HQ showed the lowest turn-green ratio at each groundwater depth. Moreover, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) content were also significantly affected by shallow groundwater depth, cultivars, and their interaction at different harvests. Cultivars Magnum551, Zhongmu No. 1, Zhongmu No. 3, and Phabulous furnished the highest CP, while cultivar WL525HQ performed the poorest in terms of CP in this study. These results propose that planting the cultivar Phabulous at a groundwater depth of 100 cm could be a suitable agronomic practice for alfalfa forage production in the coastal salt–alkali area of North China.

Energy sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L). Moench] is potentially of great significance for bioethanol production because of its high biomass and wide adaptability. In this study, a field experiment was conducted on a semiarid marginal land in Inner Mongolia (39°10′N, 109°53′E), China, to assess the effects of genotypes with similar growth duration and biomass yield levels on chemical composition and theoretical ethanol yield (TEY) in both leaves and stems of four genotypes each of sweet and biomass sorghum in 2013 and 2014. Among all varieties, no significant variation was observed in the biomass yield of leaf (1.81–2.55 Mg ha−1) and stem (3.73–4.87 Mg ha−1), which was relatively low due to the marginal land with low temperature conditions. By contrast, considerable variation was detected in soluble sugars, ash and hexose contents of leaves and stems among the sweet sorghum varieties over two years. Compared with the sweet type, biomass sorghum varieties exhibited significantly lower soluble sugars content but higher cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contents in both leaf and stem tissues, resulting in significantly lower hexose and higher pentose contents. Moreover, stems exhibited significantly higher total content of hexose and pentose (725.4 g kg−1) than leaves (642.3 g kg−1) across all varieties, leading to significantly higher TEY of stems than that of leaves. Despite the slightly higher TEY of sweet sorghum, biomass sorghum varieties exhibited particularly stable chemical components and TEY across both experimental years, resulting in greater potential for industrial bioethanol production in this study. Overall, varietal selection was effective in improving the biomass feedstock quality of energy sorghum for biochemical conversion. The findings of this study will help to facilitate industrial bioethanol production from dedicated bioenergy crops.

Increasing demand for renewable energy has stimulated energy crop cultivation on marginal lands with low production potential. This study investigates potential biomass yield of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L., cv. Blackwell), plant nutrient (nitrogen, N; phosphorus, P; potassium, K) concentration and uptake, N-use efficiency (NUE) and apparent soil N balance in a semiarid rainfed sandy wasteland of Inner Mongolia, China. The aim of this study was to optimize N fertilizer rate and harvest time to produce quality biomass sustainably with minimal soil nutrient removal through harvested crop biomass. Five N rates (0, 60, 120, 180, 240 kg N ha−1) and two harvest times (late summer and early fall) in one-cut system were evaluated in 2015 and 2016. Nitrogen application of 60 kg N ha‒1 significantly increased aboveground plant (AGP) biomass yield by 14.3% vs. control only during early fall harvest in 2016, with no yield response at rates >60 kg N ha−1. AGP nutrient concentration and nutrient uptake increased by increasing N rate, except for P concentration, which decreased. Partial factor productivity (PFP) and agronomic NUE (ANUE) of applied N fertilizer decreased quadratically with N rates >60 kg N ha−1. Apparent soil N budget study revealed an N deficit (0–20 cm depth) in control while N surplus increased as N rate increased which likely boosted NO3- leaching. An early fall harvest exhibited 12.5% higher biomass yield and substantially reduced biomass N and K concentration and uptake relative to late summer harvest. These findings demonstrate that an N input not exceeding 60 kg N ha−1 would be sufficient to optimize biomass yields of Blackwell switchgrass and maintain the soil N balance on a semiarid rainfed sandy wasteland of Inner Mongolia when harvested in early fall. Therefore, N fertilization and harvest time practices should be considered simultaneously in switchgrass production systems for the continuous and sustainable biomass supply with increased feedstock quality and reduced crop fertilizer requirements.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a perennial warm-season grass which has great potential as a forage or bioenergy crop in marginal land. This study was conducted to determine whether nitrogen (N) fertilization could affect biomass quality of switchgrass harvested in late summer and early fall. The effects of four N fertilizer application rates (0, 60, 120, and 240 kg N ha−1) and two harvest times (late summer and early fall) on the quality components of forage and biofuel feedstock and theoretical ethanol yield (TEY) were investigated on a sandy wasteland (Aridisol) in Inner Mongolia, China during the growing seasons of 2015 and 2016. Soil NO3− content was also examined in response to N application rates. Application of 60 kg N ha−1 significantly increased switchgrass crude protein (CP) content, protein yield, and TEY (p

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a perennial biofuel crop with a high production potential and suitable for growth on marginal land. This study investigates the long-term planting effect of switchgrass on the dynamics of soil moisture, pH, organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), nitrate nitrogen (NO₃–-N) and ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) for soils to a depth of 90-cm in a sandy wasteland, Inner Mongolia, China. After crop harvesting in 2015, soil samples were collected from under switchgrass stands established in 2006, 2008, and 2009, native mixture, and a control that was virgin sand. Averaged across six layers, soil moisture and pH was significantly higher under the native mixture than switchgrass or virgin sand. However, SOC and TN were significantly higher under the 2006 switchgrass stand when compared with all other vegetation treatments and the control. The SOC and TN increased from 2.37 and 0.26 g kg⁻¹, respectively, for 2009 switchgrass stand, and to 3.21 and 0.42 g kg⁻¹, respectively, for 2006 switchgrass stand. Meanwhile, SOC and TN contents were 2.51 and 0.27 g kg⁻¹, respectively, under the native mixture. The soil beneath switchgrass and native mixture showed the highest NO₃–-N and NH₄⁺-N, respectively. The soil moisture increased with depth while SOC, TN, and NO₃–-N decreased. An obvious trend of increasing moisture, SOC, TN, and mineral N was observed with increasing switchgrass stand age. Thus, growing switchgrass on sandy soils can enhance SOC and TN, improve the availability of mineral N, and generate more appropriate pH conditions for this energy cropping system.

It is important to understand switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) productivity with relation to diverse nutrient deficiency conditions in order to optimize continuous biomass production in marginal lands. This study was conducted on a wasteland sandy soil (Aridosol) to assess biomass yield, nutrient uptake and nitrogen (N) recovery of switchgrass, and soil nitrate-N (NO3−-N) accumulation responses to N (120 kg N ha−1), phosphorus (P, 100 kg P2O5 ha−1), and potassium (K, 45 kg K2O ha−1) applications during 2015 and 2016 in Inner Mongolia, China. The experiment layout was a randomized complete block design with fertilizer mixture treatments of N, P, and K (NPK), P and K (PK), N and K (NK), N and P (NP), and a control with no fertilizer input (CK). Plant height and stem diameter remained unaffected by the different fertilizer treatments. Biomass yield with the NPK treatment in 2015 was 8.9 Mg ha−1 and in 2016 it was 7.3 Mg ha−1. In 2015, compared with the NPK treatment, a significant yield reduction of 33.7% was found with PK, 22.5% with NK, 28.1% with NP, and 40.5% with CK; however, in 2016, yield declined significantly only with CK compared to the rest of the fertilizer treatments, for which yields were statistically similar. Plant N content was reduced for the treatment PK (i.e. N omission); conversely, plant P and K content remained unaffected with P and K omission treatments. Plant nutrient uptake, particularly of N and K, was severely decreased by the nutrient omission treatments when averaged across 2 years. Apparent N recovery (ANR; quantity of N uptake per unit of N applied) was reduced for the NP and NK treatments, which led to an increase in soil NO3−-N accumulation in the top 0–20 cm layer, compared with the NPK treatment. However, ANR was the highest (37.2% in 2015) with the NPK treatment, which also reduced soil NO3−-N accumulation. A balanced N, P, and K fertilizer management approach is suggested to sustain switchgrass yield and stand persistence on semiarid, marginal, sandy wasteland.

An understanding of biomass yield and quality response to N supply is essential to breeding and cultivation of sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) for the production of bioethanol or forage. A two – year field experiment was conducted in 2013 and 2014 on semiarid marginal land in Inner Mongolia (39°10′N, 109°53′E) to determine the effects of N fertilizer rate (0, 60, 120, and 240 kg ha −1 ) on biomass yield and quality of sweet sorghum (GT-8) and biomass sorghum (GN-11), and on soil conditions. Results indicated that (1) biomass yield, leaf/stem ratio, and crude protein (CP), protein yield, theoretical ethanol yield (TEY), and soil net NO 3 − -N accumulation of both sorghum varieties in 2013 and 2014 significantly increased with the increasing N fertilizer rate from 0 to 240 kg ha −1 , whereas dry matter ratio and relative feed value (RFV) varied inversely with the N application rates. (2) Compared to biomass sorghum (GN-11), sweet sorghum (GT-8) demonstrated significant enhancement of forage quality components including CP, dry matter digestibility (DMD), dry matter intake (DMI), total digestible nutrients (TDN), net energy for lactation (NE L ), and RFV, with stems exhibiting higher forage quality than leaves. Biomass sorghum (GN-11) exhibited better performance for bioenergy production, with an average biomass yield of 7.9 t ha −1 and TEY of 3046.7 L ha −1 averaged across all N rates. (3) Annual average amount of net NO 3 − -N accumulation in 0–90 cm layers of two years significantly increased when fertilizer N exceeded 120 kg N ha −1 . In short, N fertilizer of 60 kg ha −1 is recommended to sweet sorghum for the forage production and 120 kg N ha −1 to biomass sorghum for bioenergy feedstock sustainability, respectively, meanwhile to prevent the soil degradation on semiarid marginal lands.

Plant density substantially affects sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) productivity. Therefore, density optimisation plays a pivotal role in crop management practices. A 2-year field experiment was conducted on sandy loam marginal land in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, to (1) determine the mechanism underlying the impact of plant density (i.e. 6.0, 7.5, 9.0, 10.5 and 12.0 plant m−2) on biomass yield, quality and photosynthetic efficiency and (2) determine the optimum plant density for sweet sorghum variety GT-3 and biomass sorghum variety GN-4. Results indicate that plant height, leaf area index (LAI), leaf area duration (LAD) and biomass yield increased as plant density increased, but tiller number, stem diameter and net assimilation rate (NAR) decreased. The growth period between elongation and anthesis dates was crucial to sorghum productivity; during this period, LAD was the determining factor for biomass yield. Increase in plant density up to 10.5 plant m−2 led to a high LAI level, an extended LAD, a high and stable NAR and a positive balance between photosynthesis and respiration processes, all of which contributed to highest biomass yield (13.2 t ha−1). Ultimately, sweet-type variety GT-3 demonstrated the highest theoretical ethanol yield (4147 L ha−1) and relative feed value (112.3%) compared with biomass-type variety GN-4.

Insects have evolved highly sensitive olfactory sensory systems to detect plant hosts and mates, with plant volatiles playing an important role in informing insect behavior. Chemosensory proteins (CSPs) are thought to play a key role in this process, but in this respect, there is limited information on brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens, one of the most destructive pests of rice. To expand our understanding of CSP function in N. lugens we explored expression profiles and binding characteristics of NlugCSP3. The ligands with higher binding affinity were also validated by molecular docking and behavioral assays. NlugCSP3 mRNA was expressed at relatively higher levels in antennae and abdomen of 3-day-old unmated macropterous males as well as in antennae of 3-day mated macropterous and brachypterous females. Fluorescence competitive binding assays revealed that 5 out of 25 candidate volatiles are strong binders (Ki

Elucidating the chemical composition and health benefits of specially bred leaf-vegetable sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) can provide a basis for improving their utilization and commercialization and also inform effective breeding strategies. In this study, the nutritional and health-related parameters of different-colored leaf tips (green and purplish-green types) from 11 leafy cultivars of sweet potatoes were determined. The results showed that the tip tissue possessed a wide range of nutritional compounds, and the contents of all of these compounds differed significantly between cultivars (p

Unbalanced climate during the last decades has created spatially alarming and destructive situations in the world. Anomalies in temperature and precipitation enhance the risks for crop production in large agricultural region (especially the Southern Punjab) of Pakistan. Detailed analysis of historic weather data (1980–2011) record helped in creating baseline data to compare with model projection (SimCLIM) for regional level. Ensemble of 40 GCMs used for climatic projections with greenhouse gas (GHG) representative concentration pathways (RCP-4.5, 6.0, 8.5) was selected on the baseline comparison and used for 2025 and 2050 climate projection. Precipitation projected by ensemble and regional weather observatory at baseline showed highly unpredictable nature while both temperature extremes showed 95 % confidence level on a monthly projection. Percentage change in precipitation projected by model with RCP-4.5, RCP-6.0, and RCP-8.5 showed uncertainty 3.3 to 5.6 %, 2.9 to 5.2 %, and 3.6 to 7.9 % for 2025 and 2050, respectively. Percentage change of minimum temperature from base temperature showed that 5.1, 4.7, and 5.8 % for 2025 and 9.0, 8.1, and 12.0 % increase for projection year 2050 with RCP-4.5, 6.0, and 8.5 and maximum temperature 2.7, 2.5, and 3.0 % for 2025 and 4.7, 4.4, and 6.4 % for 2050 will be increased with RCP-4.5, 6.0, and 8.5, respectively. Uneven increase in precipitation and asymmetric increase in temperature extremes in future would also increase the risk associated with management of climatic uncertainties. Future climate projection will enable us for better risk management decisions.

Since the inception of global industrialization, the growth of steroid estrogens becomes a matter of emerging serious concern for the rapid population. Steroidal estrogens are potent endocrine-upsetting chemicals that are excreted naturally by vertebrates (e.g., humans and fish) and can enter natural waters through the discharge of treated and raw sewage. Steroidal estrogens in plants may enter the food web and become a serious threat to human health. We evaluated the uptake and accumulation of ethinylestradiol (EE2) and 17β-estradiol (17β-E2) in lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa) grown under controlled environmental condition over 21 days growth period. An effective analytical method based on ultrasonic liquid extraction (ULE) for solid samples and solid phase extraction (SPE) for liquid samples with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) has been developed to determine the steroid estrogens in lettuce plants. The extent of uptake and accumulation was observed in a dose-dependent manner and roots were major organs for estrogen deposition. Unlike the 17β-E2, EE2 was less accumulated and translocated from root to leaves. For 17β-E2, the distribution in lettuce was primarily to roots after the second week (13%), whereas in leaves it was (10%) over the entire study period. The distribution of EE2 at 2000 μg L−1 in roots and leaves was very low (3.07% and 0.54%) during the first week and then was highest (12% in roots and 8% in leaves) in last week. Bioaccumulation factor values of 17β-E2 and EE2 in roots were 0.33 and 0.29 at 50 μg L−1 concentration as maximum values were found at 50 μg L−1 rather than 500 and 2000 in all observed plant tissues. Similar trend was noticed in roots than leaves for bioconcentration factor as the highest bioconcentration values were observed at 50 μg L−1 concentration instead of 500 and 2000 μg L−1 spiked concentration. These findings mainly indicate the potential for uptake and bioaccumulation of estrogens in lettuce plants. Overall, the estrogen contents in lettuce were compared to the FAO/WHO recommended toxic level and were found to be higher than the toxic level which is of serious concern to the public health. This analytical procedure may aid in future studies on risks associated with uptake of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in lettuce plants.

Optimum seeding density is necessary to achieve the production potential of a cultivar in all crops. To investigate the performance of different cultivars in direct seeded rice in response to various seeding densities, a field experiment was conducted at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during the kharif 2012. Super basmati (fine rice) and KSK-133 (coarse rice) were sown using seeding densities of 30, 45, 60 and 75 kg&middotha-1. Results indicated that leaf area index and crop growth rate varied among rice cultivars as well as various seeding densities. The growth of rice at seeding density of 75 kg&middotha-1 was higher than rest of treatments. The response of rice yield and its components like number of productive tillers, number of kernels per panicle and 1000-kernal weight differed significantly under the influence of cultivars and various seeding densities. Seeding density of 75 kg&middotha-1 remained superior for both rice cultivars regarding final yield. This treatment furnished kernel yields of 3.83 and 5.49 t&middotha-1 in fine and coarse rice, respectively which were significantly higher than other treatments. However, Kernel quality was improved in terms of lower number of sterile and chalky kernels at lower seeding densities (30 kg&middotha-1). Based on these findings, it is concluded that using seeding density of 75 kg&middotha-1 for direct seeded fine and coarse rice cultivars is beneficial in terms of better growth and higher yield but kernel quality is reduced by increasing the seeding density.

Rahman, Muhammad Habib ur/0000-0002-2823-9959; Jabran, Khawar/0000-0001-8512-3330; Hakeem, Khalid Rehman/0000-0001-7824-4695; Amin, Asad/0000-0003-2242-8377; Ata-Ul-Karim, Syed Tahir/0000-0001-5233-4502; Jatoi, Ghulam Hussain/0000-0002-7266-1567; Rehmani, M.I.A./0000-0001-7922-1233; Bajwa, Ali/0000-0002-7171-3118; Nadeem, Muhammad/0000-0002-7426-1196; Ata-Ul-Karim, Syed Tahir/0000-0001-5233-4502; Ameen, Asif/0000-0002-3982-7000; Islam, Faisal/0000-0002-1471-1570 WOS: 000397013000067 PubMed: 28054268 Crop nutrient management is an essential component of any cropping system. With increasing concerns over environmental protection, improvement in fertilizer use efficiencies has become a prime goal in global agriculture system. Phosphorus (P) is one of the most important nutrients, and strategies are required to optimize its use in important arable crops like cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) that has great significance. Sustainable P use in crop production could significantly avoid environmental hazards resulting from over-P fertilization. Crop growth modeling has emerged as an effective tool to assess and predict the optimal nutrient requirements for different crops. In present study, Decision Support System for Agro-technology Transfer (DSSAT) sub-model CSM-CROPGRO- Cotton-P was evaluated to estimate the observed and simulated P use in two cotton cultivars grown at three P application rates under the semi-arid climate of southern Punjab, Pakistan. The results revealed that both the cultivars performed best at medium rate of P application (57 kg ha(-1)) in terms of days to anthesis, days to maturity, seed cotton yield, total dry matter production, and harvest index during 2013 and 2014. Cultivar FH-142 performed better than MNH-886 in terms of different yield components. There was a good agreement between observed and simulated days to anthesis (0 to 1 day), days to maturity (0 to 2 days), seed cotton yield, total dry matter, and harvest index with an error of -4.4 to 15%, 12-7.5%, and 13-9.5% in MNH-886 and for FH-142, 4-16%, 19-11%, and 16-8.3% for growing years 2013 and 2014, respectively. CROPGRO-Cotton-P would be a useful tool to forecast cotton yield under different levels of P in cotton production system of the semi-arid climate of Southern Punjab. Government of Australia [4915_2015]; Higher Education Commission (HEC) of PakistanHigher Education Commission of Pakistan The first author is grateful to the International Global Change Institute (IGCI) Hamilton, New Zealand, for providing the software (SimCLIM2013) and the required climatic dataset for future projections with for southern Punjab, Pakistan. The first author is thankful to Prof. Dr. Gerrit Hoogenboom (Ex-Director, AgWeatherNet, Washington State University, USA; Currently: University of Florida-USA), for his technical guidance and support during the entire period of study and modeling work. Furthermore, first author is highly thankful from NASA for weather data of respective years (which was obtained from website http://power.larc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/cgiwrap). The corresponding author (Wajid NASIM) is highly thankful to Government of Australia, for Endeavor Research Award/Fellowship (No. 4915_2015) to The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Sustainable Agriculture, National Research Flagship, Toowoomba-QLD 4350, Australia. Furthermore, co-authors (Wajid NASIM and Shakeel AHMAD) are highly thankful for Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan for partial funding.

Optimum seeding depth is essential to attain the maximum production potential of a cultivar. To examine the effect of various planting depths in coarse and fine aromatic rice under direct seeding, pot and field studies were executed at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during kharif 2012. Experiment was comprised of two rice cultivars viz., super basmati (fine aromatic rice) and KSK-133 (coarse rice) which were sown at various seeding depths viz., 2, 3, 4 and 5 cm using randomized complete block design (RCBD) under factorial arrangement of treatments replicated three times. Results indicated that stand establishment attributes were statistically affected by seeding depth. Increasing seeding depth resulted in low performance of all the yield related parameters. At seeding depth of 3 cm, leaf area indices, leaf area duration, crop growth rate, total dry matter accumulation and net assimilation rate of coarse and fine rice were improved. Likewise, significantly higher yield and its related components were recorded, when crop was sown at seeding depth of 3 cm. This treatment furnished kernel yields of 5.08 and 4.23 t ha-1 in coarse and fine aromatic rice, respectively, which were significantly higher than rest of treatments. Furthermore, at same depth kernel quality was also improved in terms of lower number of sterile, opaque and chalky kernels. Nonetheless, Water absorption ratio was also higher in these kernels. As for kernels protein content concerned it was decreased with increasing seeding depth. It is concluded that sowing at seeding depth of 3 cm for direct seeded coarse and fine rice cultivars is beneficial in terms of better stand establishment, normal growth, higher yield and improved quality of rice crop.