Melatonin differentially refines the metabolome to improve seed formation during grain developmental stages and enhances yield in two contrasting rice cultivars, grown in arsenic-contaminated soil.

The manuscript revealed the ameliorative effects of exogenous melatonin in two distinct reproductive stages, i.e., developing grains (20 days after pollination) and matured grains (40 days after pollination) in two contrasting indica rice genotypes, viz., Khitish (arsenic-susceptible) and Muktashri (arsenic-tolerant), irrigated with arsenic-contaminated water throughout their life-cycle. Melatonin administration improved yield-related parameters like rachis length, primary and secondary branch length, number of grains per panicle, number of filled and empty grains per panicle, grain length and breadth and 1000-grain per weight. Expression of GW2, which negatively regulates grain development, was suppressed, along with concomitant induction of positive regulators like GIF1, DEP1 and SPL14 in both Khitish and Muktashri. Melatonin lowered arsenic bioaccumulation in grains and tissue biomass, more effectively in Khitish. Unregulated production of reactive oxygen species, leading to cellular necrosis caused by arsenic, was reversed in presence of melatonin. Endogenous melatonin level was stimulated due to up-regulation of the key biosynthetic genes, SNAT and ASMT. Melatonin enhanced the production of diverse antioxidants like anthocyanins, flavonoids, total phenolics and ascorbic acid and also heightened the production of thiol-metabolites (cysteine, reduced glutathione, non-protein thiols and phytochelatin), ensuring effective chelation and arsenic detoxification. Altogether, our observation, supported by principal component analysis, proved that melatonin re-programs the antioxidative metabolome to enhance plant resilience against arsenic stress to mitigate oxidative damages and reduce arsenic translocation from the soil to tissue biomass and edible grains.

Ratoon rice research: Review and prospect for the tropics.

Context: With increasing labor shortage and production costs, water scarcity and climate change, there is increased interest in ratooning as a green, resource-efficient technology to boost sustainable rice production, especially in China. Since the performance of ratoon rice (regenerating a second crop from the stubble left in the fields after the main harvest) and the impact of agronomic practices on its yield have shown mixed results across the world, a better understanding is needed to determine under which conditions ratoon rice performs well. Objective: The objectives are (i) to quantify variation in rice yield of main and ratoon crops, (ii) to assess genetic variation in and impact of agronomic practices on rice yield, focusing on the yield of ratoon crop and total yield (main and ratoon crops), and (iii) review of economic and environmental benefits of ratoon rice in comparison with single and double rice cropping. Methods: In researching ratoon rice, we compiled a database from 68 studies published from 2000 to 2023. Descriptive data analysis was performed. Results: Studies from non-tropical regions account for about 70%. Large variation exists in the yield of ratoon crop across the studies, with lower yield from the tropics than non-tropics. The ratio of yield of ratoon crop to that of main crop also varied widely from 0.13 to 0.67 with 0.36 and 0.5 in tropics and non-tropics, respectively. The yield of ratoon crop was positively related to the yield of main crop, crop duration and nitrogen fertilizer application rate, which were generally higher in non-tropics. Hybrid varieties out-yielded inbred varieties in both main and ratoon crops in non-tropical regions. Direct seeding and AWD had a positive impact on the yield of ratoon crop. The impact of stubble cutting height was mixed. While agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (AEN) during entire ratoon rice cropping was similar to that reported for single rice cropping in previous studies, AEN for ratoon crop in tropical regions tended to be lower than those from previous studies on single rice cropping. Ratoon rice cropping reduced labor input and production cost and increased net economic return compared with double rice cropping. Conclusions: We propose a research agenda, with the focus on improvement of genetic and agronomic practices to explore the potential of ratoon rice cropping, especially in the tropics. Implications: This study provides insight into the progress in ratoon rice research over the past two decades globally, and specifically in the tropics.

Modern phenomics to empower holistic crop science, agronomy, and breeding research.

Crop phenomics enables the collection of diverse plant traits for a large number of samples along different time scales, representing a greater data collection throughput compared with traditional measurements. Most modern crop phenomics use different sensors to collect reflective, emitted, and fluorescence signals, etc., from plant organs at different spatial and temporal resolutions. Such multi-modal, high-dimensional data not only accelerates basic research on crop physiology, genetics, and whole plant systems modeling, but also supports the optimization of field agronomic practices, internal environments of plant factories, and ultimately crop breeding. Major challenges and opportunities facing the current crop phenomics research community include developing community consensus or standards for data collection, management, sharing, and processing, developing capabilities to measure physiological parameters, and enabling farmers and breeders to effectively use phenomics in the field to directly support agricultural production.

Computer vision for plant pathology: A review with examples from cocoa agriculture.

Plant pathogens can decimate crops and render the local cultivation of a species unprofitable. In extreme cases this has caused famine and economic collapse. Timing is vital in treating crop diseases, and the use of computer vision for precise disease detection and timing of pesticide application is gaining popularity. Computer vision can reduce labour costs, prevent misdiagnosis of disease, and prevent misapplication of pesticides. Pesticide misapplication is both financially costly and can exacerbate pesticide resistance and pollution. Here, we review the application and development of computer vision and machine learning methods for the detection of plant disease. This review goes beyond the scope of previous works to discuss important technical concepts and considerations when applying computer vision to plant pathology. We present new case studies on adapting standard computer vision methods and review techniques for acquiring training data, the use of diagnostic tools from biology, and the inspection of informative features. In addition to an in-depth discussion of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and transformers, we also highlight the strengths of methods such as support vector machines and evolved neural networks. We discuss the benefits of carefully curating training data and consider situations where less computationally expensive techniques are advantageous. This includes a comparison of popular model architectures and a guide to their implementation.

Sustaining aquifers hydrologically, economically, and institutionally: Policy analysis of the Ogallala in New Mexico.

Groundwater discharge exceeding recharge threatens sustainable aquifer water use internationally. Interest remains high in discovering more hydrologically sustainable and economically affordable measures to protect these aquifers. Previous research has conducted various aquifer assessments. Some work has investigated costs and benefits of various plans that would limit aquifer pumping. Despite notable advances in this kind of analysis, little published work to date has unified these elements into a science-based integrated framework to inform more sustainable aquifer policy design. This work's novel contribution is to integrate analysis of hydrology, economics, institutions, and policy into a unified scientific framework to inform choices on more sustainable pumping strategies while protecting economic activity for agricultural and urban water-using sectors. It does so by conceptualizing, formulating, designing, and applying a mathematical programming framework to replicate historically observed pumping patterns in parts of the Southern and Central High Plains Ogallala Aquifer region in New Mexico, USA. We first calibrated the optimization framework to replicate the historically observed data. We then go on to identify least cost pumping caps that would have partly restored the aquifer to its 2014 level by 2020, while comparing the performance of four other partial aquifer protection policy measures. Findings indicate a surprisingly low cost that could have been incurred to partially protect the aquifer over that period. However, these low costs are complicated by (1) decreasing water quality outside of the irrigated regions and (2) focusing of lateral inputs to a narrower zone of depression around the irrigated regions. These findings carry important implications for identifying more sustainable aquifer management plans internationally. The work's importance comes from its capacity to inform policy debates over a range of water shortage sharing plans, while respecting institutional constraints governing equitable burden sharing.

Remote Sensing Evaluation Drone Herbicide Application Effectiveness for Controlling Echinochloa spp. in Rice Crop in Valencia (Spain).

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple cereal in the diet of more than half of the world's population. Within the European Union, Spain is a leader in rice production due to its climate and tradition, accounting for 26% of total EU production in 2020. The Valencian rice area covers around 15,000 hectares and is strongly influenced by biotic and abiotic factors. An important biotic factor affecting rice production is weeds, which compete with rice for sunlight, water and nutrients. The dominant weed in Spain is Echinochloa spp., although wild rice is becoming increasingly important. Rice cultivation in Valencia takes place in the area of L'Albufera de Valencia, which is a natural park, i.e., a special protection area. In this natural area, the use of phytosanitary products is limited, so it is necessary to use the minimum amount possible. Therefore, the objective of this work is to evaluate the possibility of using remote sensing effectively to determine the effectiveness of the application of the herbicide cyhalofop-butyl by drone for the control of Echinochloa spp. in rice crops in Valencia. The results will be compared with those obtained by using sterilisation machines (electric backpack sprayers) to apply the herbicide. To evaluate the effectiveness of the application, the reflectance obtained by the satellite sensors in the red and near infrared (NIR) wavelengths, as well as the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), were used. The remote sensing results were analysed and complemented by the number of rice plants and weeds per area, plant dry weight, leaf area, BBCH phenological state, SPAD index values, chlorophyll content and relative growth rate. Remote sensing is validated as an effective tool for determining the efficacy of an herbicide in controlling weeds applied by both the drone and the electric backpack sprayer. The weeds slowed down their development after the treatment. Depending on the phenological state of the crop and the active ingredient of the herbicide, these results are applicable to other areas with different climatic and environmental conditions.

Dataset on elemental composition of soils and plants under long-term application of mineral and organic fertilizers on gray forest soils in Vladimir region, Russia.

Long-term application of organic and mineral fertilizers can lead to changes in the elemental composition of agroecosystem components. Both the levels of nutrients and potentially toxic elements can change, as can the potential for these elements to be available to plants through changes in soil properties. Soil and plant samples of two species (pea Pisum sativum L. and oat Avena sativa L.) were collected from plots of a long-term field experiment on the application of mineral and organic fertilizers and their combinations to gray forest soils in the Vladimir region, Russia. Soil samples from the 0-20 and 20-40 cm layers were subjected to acid digestion to determine total element content. Mobile forms of elements were extracted from topsoil samples using acetate-ammonium buffer (pH 4.8). Sample preparation of pea and oat plant organs (stems, leaves, pods/ears) included sample digestion in a microwave sample digestion system ETHOS EASY (Milestone, Italy). The elemental composition of the samples was determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) using Agilent 5800 ICP-OES (Agilent Technologies, USA). The dataset includes concentration data for 34 elements, including rare earth elements, in these samples collected in 2021. The dataset also contains general agrochemical characteristics of soils of the experimental groups: pH of water and salt suspension, organic carbon content, mobile forms of phosphorus. The data can be valuable to researchers developing fertilizer application systems and modeling changes in the elemental composition of agroecosystems.

Soil fertility and agro-physiological responses of maize (Zea mays) irrigated by treated domestic wastewater by hybrid multi-soil-layering technology.

The depletion of water resources has gained global attention, particularly in arid climates, where there is growing interest in reusing treated wastewater for irrigation. This study focuses on the impact of irrigating treated wastewater using a hybrid multi-soil-layering (MSL) technology on soil physicochemical properties and the agro-physiological characteristics of maize (Zea mays) cultivated in Morocco, a region characterized by arid conditions. To achieve this research goals, three plots were cultivated with Zea mays and subjected to irrigation with water of varying qualities: raw wastewater (RWW), treated wastewater (TWW), and well water (WW). This experiment ran for five months, covering one crop season. The physicochemical and microbiological parameters in the soil and water were investigated, and the agro-physiological characteristics of the maize crops were assessed. The findings revealed significant differences in physicochemical and microbial parameters within both water and soil, as well as in the physiological responses of the maize crop, among the three water treatments. TWW's quality met the permissible limits for direct wastewater discharge, as prescribed by Moroccan norms, making it suitable for potential irrigation reuse. Moreover, the higher content of key elements (Na, K, Ca, and Mg) in WW indicated that TWW was more suitable for irrigation. Zea mays irrigated with RWW and TWW exhibited a higher accumulation of protein and sugar content compared to WW irrigation. Furthermore, the biomass parameters, including root, aerial, and grain dry weight, showed a positive effect on Zea mays irrigated with RWW and TWW compared to WW. Total chlorophyll content, on the other hand, was highest in plants irrigated with WW, followed by TWW. Plants irrigated with RWW produced the highest amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Conversely, plants irrigated with WW had a higher content of Ca, Na, and Mg. TWW yielded medium concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Na compared to RWW and WW, attributed to the nutrients provided by irrigation with TWW using the hybrid MSL technology. In conclusion, aside from their use as irrigation water, treated wastewater emerges as a valuable source of plant nutrients and soil fertilizers. They offer significant nutritive value, enhancing plant growth, reducing the need for additional fertilizer application, lowering mineral fertilization costs, and increasing the productivity of infertile soils. This highlights the potential of treated wastewater to improve agricultural sustainability in arid regions like Morocco.

Research on Passiflora foetida L. as a Pharmaceutical Treatment for Neurasthenia in Humans.

<b>Background and Objective:</b> This plant is known in many parts of the world and is used as medicine in some countries. In Vietnam, people know how to use <i>Passiflora foetida </i>L.,<i> </i>as an herb. There are many research works in the world, most of them focus on medicinal properties. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic diversity of samples of <i>Passiflora foetida </i>L., yellow fruit based on agronomic traits and the gene region of "<i>rbcL</i>". <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Seed samples were arranged in a completely randomized design with three replications. The trial was a sample of <i>Passiflora foetida </i>L., species. The distance between sample plant is 3×2 m, so the total number of trees is 1,330 trees ha¹. The genetic relationship between them was determined through the construction of a phylogenetic tree in the "<i>rbcL</i>" gene region sequence. Data analysis and processing methods done by using X software. <b>Results:</b> The PCR results that amplify the "<i>rbcL</i>" gene region around 670 bp, the PCR products were then sequenced. The sequence results were compared with the sequences on the NCBI gene bank, showing that the sequences of the nine varieties/species all coincided with the <i>Passiflora foetida </i>Sims species sequences with a high similarity coefficient from 98.77 to 99.9%. Genetically shows that all nine species samples belong to <i>Passiflora foetida</i> which can be classified into three genetic samples of An Giang (LA1), Ca Mau (LA2) and Can Tho (LA3) which are genetically close to each other, have the same index. <b>Conclusion:</b> The heritability in the broad sense is high in the two traits of stem height and leaf length, so it can be considered that these two traits are controlled by genes. The cultivation of algae seeds to improve the productivity of these medicinal plant varieties is important in providing raw materials for the oriental medicine industry.

Toward Optimal Irrigation Management at the Plot Level: Evaluation of Commercial Water Potential Sensors.

Proper irrigation practice consists of applying the optimum amount of water to the soil at the right time. The porous characteristics of the soil determine the capacity of the soil to absorb, infiltrate, and store water. In irrigation, it is not sufficient to only determine the water content of the soil; it is also necessary to determine the availability of water for plants: water potential. In this paper, a comprehensive laboratory evaluation-accuracy and variability-of the world's leading commercial water potential sensors is carried out. No such comprehensive and exhaustive comparative evaluation of these devices has been carried out to date. Ten pairs of representative commercial sensors from four different families were selected according to their principle of operation (tensiometers, capacitive sensors, heat dissipation sensors, and resistance blocks). The accuracy of the readings (0 kPa-200 kPa) was determined in two soils of contrasting textures. The variability in the recordings-repeatability and reproducibility-was carried out in a homogeneous and inert material (sand) in the same suction range. The response in terms of accuracy and value dispersion of the different sensor families was different according to the suction range considered. In the suction range of agronomic interest (0-100 kPa), the heat dissipation sensor and the capacitive sensors were the most accurate. In both families, registrations could be extended up to 150-200 kPa. The scatter in the readings across the different sensors was due to approximately 80% of the repeatability or intrinsic variability in the sensor unit and 20% of the reproducibility. Some sensors would significantly improve their performance with ad hoc calibrations.

Failure to scale in digital agronomy: An analysis of site-specific nutrient management decision-support tools in developing countries.

While many have extolled the potential impacts of digital advisory services for smallholder agriculture, the evidence for sustained uptake of such tools remains limited. This paper utilizes a survey of tool developers and researchers, as well as a systematic meta-analysis of prior studies, to assess the extent and challenges of scaling decision support tools for site-specific soil nutrient management (SSNM-DST) across smallholder farming systems, where "scaling" is defined as a significant increase in tool usage beyond pilot levels. Our evaluation draws on relevant literature, expert opinion and apps available in different repositories. Despite their acclaimed yield benefits, we find that SSNM-DST have struggled to reach scale over the last few decades and, with strong heterogeneity in adoption among intended stakeholders and tools. For example, the log odds of a SSNM-DST reaching 5-10 % of the target farmers compared with reaching none, decreases by âˆ¼200% when a technical problem is stated as a reason for the tools' failure to be used at scale. We find a similar decrease in odds ratios when technical, socioeconomic, policy, and R&D constraints were identified as barriers to scaling by national extension and private systems. Meta-regression analysis indicates that the response ratio of using SSNM-DST over Farmer Fertilizer Practice (FFP) varies by non-tool related covariates, such as initial crop yield potential under FFP, current and past crop types, acidity class of the soil, temperature and rainfall regimes, and the amount of input under FFP. In general, the SSNM-DST have moved one step forward compared with the traditional 'blanket' fertilizer recommendation by accounting for in-field heterogeneities in soil and crop characteristics, while remaining undifferentiated in terms of demographic and socioeconomic heterogeneities among users, which potentially constrains adoption at scale. The SSNM-DSTs possess reasonable applicability and can be labeled 'ready' from purely scientific viewpoints, although their readiness for system-level uptake at scale remains limited, especially where socio-technical and institutional constraints are prevalent.

Integrated hydroponics systems with anaerobic supernatant and aquaculture effluent in desert regions: Nutrient recovery and benefit analysis.

Hydroponics is a resource-efficient system that increases food production and enhances the overall sustainability of agricultural systems, particularly in arid zones with prevalent water scarcity and limited areas of arable land. This study investigated zero-waste hydroponics systems fed by agricultural waste streams as nutrient sources under desert conditions. Three pilot-scale systems were tested and compared. The first hydroponics system ("HPAP") received its nutrient source internally from an aquaponic system, including supernatant from the anaerobic digestion of fish sludge. The second system ("HPAD") was sourced by the supernatant of plant waste anaerobic digestion, and the third served as a control that was fed by commercial Hoagland solution ("HPHS"). Fresh weight production was similar in all treatments, ranging from 488 to 539 g per shoot, corresponding to 5.7 to 6.0 kg total wet weight per m2. The recovery of N and P from wastes and their subsequent uptake by plants was highly efficient, with rates of 77 % for N and 65 % for P. Plants that were fed using supernatants demonstrated slightly higher plant quality compared with those grown in Hoagland solution. Over the duration of the full study (3 months), water was only used to compensate for evapotranspiration, corresponding to ~10 L per kg of lettuce. The potential health risk for heavy metals was negligible, as assessed using the health-risk index (HRI < 1) and targeted hazardous quotient (THQ < 1). The results of this study demonstrate that careful management can significantly reduce pollution, increase the recovery of nutrients and water, and improve hydroponics production.

Plant agronomy, leaf ecophysiology, yield and quality data of interspecific grafted Coffea arabica across an elevation gradient.

In-field data were collected in Costa Rica between 2018-2021 on newly planted grafted and non-grafted coffee plants grown under artificial shade nets and across an elevation gradient (1050, 1250 and 1450 m.a.s.l). The coffee plants consisted of Coffea arabica F1 hybrid plants ('H3 i.e. Caturra cv. X Ethiopian 531'), which were derived from a somatic embryogenesis clonal propagation process, an American C. arabica pure line ('Villa Sarchi') and C. canephora 'Nemaya' (the latter two both being produced by seed). Data from eight different coffee types (including these three genotypes) and different grafting combinations (including reverse and auto-grafting) were collected. Data concerned plant traits such as grafting compatibility (plant collar diameters above and below graft union), agronomic characteristics (aerial and root traits), leaf ecophysiology (leaf gas-exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence), yield and quality attributes (bean size, peaberry percentage, WB100 and SCA note). Climate data were also included for comparison on the farm plots along the elevation gradient. Linear mixed models were used to test for effects of elevation (test sites), coffee types (grafted or non-grafted combinations) and interaction between coffee types and elevations. Least square mean estimates were calculated for significant fixed effects and Tukey tests applied for pairwise tests. A tangential hyperbola curve was used to analyse leaf gas-exchange data. These datasets and R scripts can be re-used as a guide for future analyses concerning coffee agronomy or eco-physiological interactions for other plant species. Other potential re-uses could be meta-analyses aimed at comparing coffee yield, quality, or other agronomic traits across different environmental conditions (such as under shade of an agroforestry system or across different elevation sites).

Agroecology, technology, and stakeholder awareness: Implementing the UN Food Systems Summit call for action.

The global food system must meet the increasing demand for food, fiber, and energy while reducing environmental impacts. The UN Food System Summit (UNFSS) has made a clear call to action for a global food systems transformation. We argue that three major discrepancies remain, potentially delaying the urgent implementation of the call to action. First, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are not sufficiently focused on agriculture, leading to funding allocation issues. Second, a mismatch of agroecology with technology innovations may slow scaling agroecological farming. Lastly, agricultural diversification must move beyond organic landscapes and into conventional agriculture. As a solution, principles of NbS should be clear on agricultural integration. Moreover, stakeholder awareness must increase that agroecology does not necessarily conflict with agricultural technologies. Future agricultural models must apply measures such as agricultural diversification in conjunction with technology innovations to then ascertain an overall timely and successful implementation of the UNFSS call to action.

Pathways to wheat self-sufficiency in Africa.

A growing urban population and dietary changes increased wheat import bills in Africa to 9% per year. Though wheat production in the continent has been increasing over the past decades, to varying degrees depending on regions, this has not been commensurate with the rapidly increasing demand for wheat. Analyses of wheat yield gaps show that there is ample opportunity to increase wheat production in Africa through improved genetics and agronomic practices. Doing so would reduce import dependency and increase wheat self-sufficiency at national level in many African countries. In view of the uncertainties revealed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events, and world security issues, national policies in Africa should re-consider the value of self-sufficiency in production of staple food crops, specifically wheat. This is particularly so for areas where water-limited wheat yield gaps can be narrowed through intensification on existing cropland and judicious expansion of rainfed and irrigated wheat areas. Increasing the production of other sources of calories (and proteins) should also be considered to reduce dependency on wheat imports.

"Las lanzas se convertirán irrevocablemente en arados": el Instituto agrario de Vicente Rocafuerte y José Indelicato (1838-1839) / “The spears shall become plows”: Vicente Rocafuerte and José Indelicato’s agrarian institute (1838-1839)

El artículo se propone analizar la fundación del primer Instituto agrario del Ecuador mediante una reconstitución del itinerario de su director, el médico siciliano José Indelicato, que permitirá esclarecer el doble contexto en que se creó el establecimiento: la difusión del socialismo utópico, que marcó el recorrido de Indelicato, y el auge de la agronomía como ciencia específica, que llevó a la creación de las primeras escuelas de agricultura en Europa y América a principios del siglo XIX.(AU)

This article aims to analyze the creation of the first Ecuadorian Agrarian Institute by reconstructing the travels of its director, the Sicilian doctor José Indelicato, between Europe and America, which will allow us to clarify the context of the Institute’s creation: the spread of utopian socialism, that influenced Indelicato’s trajectory, and the emergence of agronomy as a separate science that led to the creation of the first schools of agriculture in Europe and the Americas at the beginning of the 19th century.(AU)

Seed coating with micronutrients improves germination, growth, yield and microelement nutrients of maize (Zea mays L.).

Soil and foliar application are the most widely used methods for adding micronutrients to maize. High quality micronutrient fertilizers, however, are difficult to obtain in developing countries; micronutrient seed coatings are an attractive and practical alternative. We applied this approach to maize (Zea mays L.) to demonstrate the effects of boron (B), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn) sulfates on maize germination, vigor, seedling growth, seed yield and seed quality as well as on seed microelement concentration. Seed coating was tested on three representative Chinese soil types (sandy, purple and lime soils). Compared to untreated controls, coating maize seeds with micronutrients significantly increased the seed emergence rate, seedling height, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, main root length, root number, above ground fresh biomass, above ground dry biomass, underground fresh biomass, underground dry biomass, ear thickness and yield in sandy, purple and lime soils. Coating maize seeds with micronutrients also significantly increased the yield and quality of maize seed compared to untreated controls including ear barren tip, ear length, ear thickness, grains/row, hundred seed weigh, and rows/ear. Also, B, Zn, Fe, Mn and Mo microelements accumulated in maize seed after coating the seed with micronutrients. Our findings indicate that micronutrient seed coating may improve nutrient uptake and production of maize hybrids.

Chemical dataset of levels of heavy metals in vineyard soil and grapevine leaf samples from Cape Winelands, South Africa.

The chemical analysis of vineyards is an essential tool for the early detection of risks, such as excessive fertilization and heavy metal and pesticide contamination in farm management. Soil and plant samples were collected in summer and winter from six different vineyards with varying agricultural practices in the Cape Winelands of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The samples were pretreated in a microwave using CEM MARS 6™ Microwave Digestion and Extraction System (CEM Corporation, Matthews, NC, USA). Chemical element data were obtained using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) (ICP Expert II, Agilent Technologies 720 ICP-OES). The data will be valuable for selecting and improving farming practices and gaining insights into the influence of seasonal variation and agricultural practices on the elemental accumulation in farmlands.

Characterization and Association of Rips Repertoire to Host Range of Novel Ralstonia solanacearum Strains by In Silico Approaches.

Ralstonia solanacearum species complex (RSSC) cause several phytobacteriosis in many economically important crops around the globe, especially in the tropics. In Brazil, phylotypes I and II cause bacterial wilt (BW) and are indistinguishable by classical microbiological and phytopathological methods, while Moko disease is caused only by phylotype II strains. Type III effectors of RSSC (Rips) are key molecular actors regarding pathogenesis and are associated with specificity to some hosts. In this study, we sequenced and characterized 14 newly RSSC isolates from Brazil's Northern and Northeastern regions, including BW and Moko ecotypes. Virulence and resistance sequences were annotated, and the Rips repertoire was predicted. Confirming previous studies, RSSC pangenome is open as α≅0.77. Genomic information regarding these isolates matches those for R. solanacearum in NCBI. All of them fit in phylotype II with a similarity above 96%, with five isolates in phylotype IIB and nine in phylotype IIA. Almost all R. solanacearum genomes in NCBI are actually from other species in RSSC. Rips repertoire of Moko IIB was more homogeneous, except for isolate B4, which presented ten non-shared Rips. Rips repertoire of phylotype IIA was more diverse in both Moko and BW, with 43 common shared Rips among all 14 isolates. New BW isolates shared more Rips with Moko IIA and Moko IIB than with other public BW genome isolates from Brazil. Rips not shared with other isolates might contribute to individual virulence, but commonly shared Rips are good avirulence candidates. The high number of Rips shared by new Moko and BW isolates suggests they are actually Moko isolates infecting solanaceous hosts. Finally, infection assays and Rips expression on different hosts are needed to better elucidate the association between Rips repertoire and host specificities.

Impacts of fertilization management strategies on improved sorghums varieties in smallholder farming systems in Mali: Productivity and profitability differences.

Sorghum is an important cereal crop cultivated by smallholder farmers of Mali, contributing significantly to their food demand and security. The study evaluated different fertilization strategies that combined organic and inorganic fertilizer applications with three sorghum varieties. The experiments were conducted over three cropping seasons (2017-2019) in three sites (Bamako, Bougouni, and Koutiala respectively) within the Sudanian region of Mali. Our results showed a significant effect of season, variety, and fertilization strategies on grain and stalk yields. Grain yield increased by 8-40% in Koutiala, 11-53% in Bougouni, and 44-110% in Bamako while the average stalk yield was above 5000 kg ha-1 with fertilized treatment compared to unfertilized treatment in the three sites. Fadda performed the best variety, mean grain yield was 23% and 42% higher than that of Soumba and Tieble, respectively. Similarly, there was a progressive increase in grain yield with an increasing level of poultry manure (PM) from 0 to 150 g/hill and cattle manure (CM) from 0 to 100 g/hill. However, the application of 100 g/hill of CM and PM plus 3 g/hill of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) increased yield by 8% and 12% respectively compared to only CM or PM treatments. The results further revealed higher yield gain by 51% (Bamako), 57% (Koutiala), and 42% (Bougouni) for T10-[PM (100 g/hill) + Micro-D_DAP (3 g/hill)] equivalent to 73 kgNha-1 than others (T2-T9), but not proportionate to the highest value-cost ratio (VCR). Radar charts used to visualize sustainable intensification (SI) performance in the three domains (productivity, profitability, and environment) showed that the environmental variable has a direct influence on productivity, meanwhile profitability across the strategies ranged from low to moderate value across sites and different fertilizer strategies. Our study, therefore, recommends the use of multiple-choice fertilizer strategies includingT2-CM (50 g/hill)+PM(50 g/hill), T5-DAP-Micro-D (3 g/hill), T6-DAP41:46:00 and T9-PM(50 g/hill) alongside with improved sorghum varieties tested, for higher productivity and profitability across the region.