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Societal Impact Statement: Agricultural techniques are inherently connected to social organization. Under colonialism, broadly understood as foreign powers suppressing (parts of) a local population, escape agriculture offers a way to avoid despotism by producing food and other produce in independent and sustainable ways. Crop diversity plays an important role in escape agriculture, demonstrated here by the variation of rice varieties on Maroon farms in Suriname. Histories of Maroon agricultural practices, and similarly marginalized groups in (formerly) colonized regions, are informative for current interventions in agriculture. Agronomic support to marginalized groups will only be successful when addressing historically grown social disengagement. Summary: Rationale: Food is essential for successful marronage and produced by means of escape agriculture. Today, communities in the interior of Suriname continue to farm by following practices of escape agriculture. Our study traces the historical development of these farming practices, in particular the extensive cultivation of rice. Our aim is to show that the diversity of rice varieties used in their fields reveals the sophisticated farming techniques and social significance of escape agriculture.Methods: We visited about 60 farm plots upstream the main rivers of Suriname where we interviewed the person in charge about the rice varieties grown in their fields. We asked about origin, names, and characteristics of each rice variety. We also screened historical sources, primary and secondary, as well as anthropological accounts of these communities for historical evidence of rice cultivation and varietal diversity.Results: Plots were farmed primarily by women and contained a broad range of different rice varieties. Naming and origin stories show a clear reference to the escape from plantations and the leading role of women in farming and food security. In some fields, a small patch was reserved for a rice type with very dark grains, used mostly for ritual purposes. Results also show adoption of more recently introduced rice varieties.Conclusion: Rice plays a key role in escape agriculture as practiced by Maroon communities in Suriname. Rice varieties are used as agricultural markers of difference. Agricultural techniques are inherently connected to social organization. Under colonialism, broadly understood as foreign powers suppressing (parts of) a local population, escape agriculture offers a way to avoid despotism by producing food and other produce in independent and sustainable ways. Crop diversity plays an important role in escape agriculture, demonstrated here by the variation of rice varieties on Maroon farms in Suriname. Histories of Maroon agricultural practices, and similarly marginalized groups in (formerly) colonized regions, are informative for current interventions in agriculture. Agronomic support to marginalized groups will only be successful when addressing historically grown social disengagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Julie Guthman's book, "Agrarian Dreams: The Paradox of Organic Farming in California," challenges the idealized perception of organic farming and exposes its flaws. The book argues that the commercialization and pursuit of higher prices in the organic industry have compromised its original values. Guthman also critiques the notion that small farms can address the environmental and social issues associated with conventional agriculture, emphasizing the importance of land and labor conditions. This influential book has had a significant impact on critical agri-environmental scholarship and broader critiques of neoliberal governance. The text also discusses Guthman's other works, "Weighing In" and "Wilted," which respectively criticize dietary fads and the industrial food system, and examine the strawberry production system's reliance on harmful chemicals and genetic manipulation. While the text acknowledges Guthman's contributions to geography and her dedication to research, it questions her use of assemblage theory in her analysis. [Extracted from the article]

Proper utilization of agricultural land is a big challenge as they often laid over as waste lands. Farming is a significant occupation in any country and improving it further by promoting more farming opportunities will take the country towards making a huge leap forward. The issue in achieving this would be the lack of knowledge of cultivable land for food crops. The objective of this work is to utilize modern computer vision technology to identify and map cultivable land for agricultural needs. With increasing population and demand for food, improving the farming sector is crucial. However, the challenge lies in the lack of suitable land for food crops cultivation. To tackle this issue, we propose to use sophisticated image processing techniques on satellite images of the land to determine the regions that are capable of growing food crops. The solution architecture includes enhancement of satellite imagery using sophisticated pan sharpening techniques, notably the Brovey transformation, aiming to transform dull satellite images into sharper versions, thereby improving the overall quality and interpretability of the visual data. Making use of the weather data on the location observed and taking into factors like the soil moisture, weather, humidity, wind, sunlight times and so on, this data is fed into a generative pre-trained transformer model which makes use of it and gives a set of crops that are suitable to be grown on this piece of land under the said conditions. The results obtained by the proposed fusion approach is compared with the dataset provided by the government for different states in India and the performance was measured. We achieved an accuracy of 80% considering the crop suggested by our model and the predominant crop of the region. Also, the classification report detailing the performance of the proposed model is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the environmental ambition of 2023-2027 Common Agricultural Policy in France. Since conditionality and agri-environment-climate measures are only marginally improved relative to the previous period, attention is focused on the new environmental instrument of the eco-scheme that in France targets the whole farm. Results suggest low environmental progress since almost all French farms would reach the standard level of the eco-scheme by one of the three access paths with unchanged farming practices, and 85% of them would reach the superior level. The percentage of farms at the superior level would be lower for farms specialized in annual crops than for cattle farms. We then show that the payment difference of €20 per hectare between the standard and superior level is probably insufficient for farms specialized in cereals, oilseeds and protein crops to offset the additional cost of the change in farm practices required to move from the standard to the superior level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miscanthus × giganteus (miscanthus) is considered a beneficial biomass energy crop because of its carbon (C) sequestration potential and low fertilizer requirements, but few studies in the United States have measured long‐term C sequestration of miscanthus on suboptimal agricultural lands over a decadal scale, and none have been conducted in southeast Ohio. The objective of this study was to measure the soil C sequestration on abandoned agricultural land with a miscanthus crop that is harvested annually, the long‐term changes in plant and soil nitrogen (N), and the photosynthetic capacity in the tenth year of growth. This study was conducted over a 10‐year period from 2013 through 2023. A significant amount of C was accumulated in the soil (p < 0.05) and the mean C sequestration rates were 0.83 and 1.37 Mg C ha−1 year−1 at two different sites. The amount of C accumulated in the miscanthus plots by the tenth year was also greater than soil C in unmanaged grassland soils, but the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). There was no statistically significant change in the amount of N found in soil and plants over 10 years (p > 0.05), but the variability in plant N was greater in some years relative to others. Even though miscanthus was grown without N fertilizers in this study, soil N at 0–30 cm depth was not depleted over 10 years of crop management. The photosynthetic capacity of miscanthus measured in this study indicated that the plants were thriving after 10 years, and C assimilation for growth was consistent with the findings of prior work that evaluated the maximum photosynthetic rates of this species. The combination of significant soil C sequestration, sustained soil N, and high photosynthetic rates has important implications for the sustainability of miscanthus as a biomass crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of the world population is leading to an increased demand for food production. Consequently, there is a need to update agricultural processes to enhance production. Smart farming has evolved as a farm management concept that leverages real-time, dependable, and site-specific agricultural information to ensure consistent and sustainable yields. This study focuses on soil nutrient analysis, specifically nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) for enhancing crop production. Maintaining an appropriate balance of NPK is crucial for the well-rounded nutrition of crops. Various environmental factors such as temperature, rainfall, humidity, and soil pH affect the NPK composition of agricultural land. The optimal usage of NPK levels can help to improve plant growth, increase crop yields, and enhance overall farm productivity. Hence, we have proposed a stack regressor learning algorithm comprising of two layers for accurate, reliable, and context-sensitive predictions of NPK levels. The proposed approach considers the combined impact of these environmental factors and predicts the optimal NPK requirements tailored to specific crops and agricultural land. The analysis of graphs demonstrates that the predictive accuracy of the proposed stacked regressor model far surpasses that of preexisting built-in machine learning models. This study helps farmers make informed decisions, leading to productivity and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to being sessile, plants develop a broad range of defense pathways when they face abiotic or biotic stress factors. Although plants are subjected to more than one type of stress at a time in nature, the combined effects of either multiple stresses of one kind (abiotic or biotic) or more kinds (abiotic and biotic) have now been realized in agricultural lands due to increases in global warming and environmental pollution, along with population increases. Soil-borne pathogens, or pathogens infecting aerial parts, can have devastating effects on plants when combined with other stressors. Obtaining yields or crops from sensitive or moderately resistant plants could be impossible, and it could be very difficult from resistant plants. The mechanisms of combined stress in many plants have previously been studied and elucidated. Recent studies proposed new defense pathways and mechanisms through signaling cascades. In light of these mechanisms, it is now time to develop appropriate strategies for crop protection under multiple stress conditions. This may involve using disease-resistant or stress-tolerant plant varieties, implementing proper irrigation and drainage practices, and improving soil quality. However, generation of both stress-tolerant and disease-resistant crop plants is of crucial importance. The establishment of a database and understanding of the defense mechanisms under combined stress conditions would be meaningful for the development of resistant and tolerant plants. It is clear that leaf pathogens show great tolerance to salinity stress and result in pathogenicity in crop plants. We noticed that regulation of the stomata through biochemical applications and some effort with the upregulation of the minor gene expressions indirectly involved with the defense mechanisms could be a great way to increase the defense metabolites without interfering with quality parameters. In this review, we selected wheat as a model plant and Zymoseptoria tritici as a model leaf pathogen to evaluate the defense mechanisms under saline conditions through physiological, biochemical, and molecular pathways and suggested various ways to generate tolerant and resistant cereal plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in land use and land cover over space and time are an indication of biophysical, socio-economic, and political dynamics. In rural communities, land-based livelihood strategies such as agriculture are crucial for sustaining livelihoods in terms of food provision and as a source of local employment and income. In recent years, African studies have documented an overall decline in the extent of small-scale crop farming, with many crop fields left abandoned. This study uses rural areas in three former apartheid homelands in South Africa as a case study to quantify patterns and trends in the overall land cover change and small-scale agricultural lands related to changes in climate over a 38-year period. Random forest classification was applied on the Landsat imagery to detect land use and land cover change, achieving an overall accuracy of above 80%. Rainfall and temperature anomalies, as well as the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) were used as climate proxies to assess the influence of climate variability on crop farming, as the systems investigated rely completely on rainfall. Agricultural land declined from 107.5 km2 to 49.5 km2 in Umhlabuyalingana; 54 km2 to 1.6 km2 in Joe Morolong; and 254.6 km2 to 7.4 km2 in Mangaung between 1984 and 2022. Declines in cropland cover, precipitation, and the SPEI were highly correlated. We argue that climatic variability influences crop farming activities; however, this could be one factor in a suite of drivers that interact together to influence the cropping practices in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cropland monitoring is important for ensuring food security in the context of global climate change and population growth. Freely available satellite data allow for the monitoring of large areas, while cloud-processing platforms enable a wide user community to apply remote sensing techniques. Remote sensing-based estimates of cropped area and crop types can thus assist sustainable land management in developing countries such as Ethiopia. In this study, we developed a method for cropland and crop type classification based on Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 time-series data using Google Earth Engine. Field data on 18 different crop types from three study areas in Ethiopia were available as reference for the years 2021 and 2022. First, a land use/land cover classification was performed to identify cropland areas. We then evaluated different input parameters derived from Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1, and combinations thereof, for crop type classification. We assessed the accuracy and robustness of 33 supervised random forest models for classifying crop types for three study areas and two years. Our results showed that classification accuracies were highest when Sentinel-2 spectral bands were included. The addition of Sentinel-1 parameters only slightly improved the accuracy compared to Sentinel-2 parameters alone. The variant including S2 bands, EVI2, and NDRe2 from Sentinel-2 and VV, VH, and Diff from Sentinel-1 was finally applied for crop type classification. Investigation results of class-specific accuracies reinforced the importance of sufficient reference sample availability. The developed methods and classification results can assist regional experts in Ethiopia to support agricultural monitoring and land management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-allocation of photovoltaic arrays with crops presents a promising strategy to mitigate the conflict between photovoltaics and agricultural land. However, there is a notable lack of quantitative research on the impact of agrivoltaic system on land quality in fragile areas. In this study, peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne) were cultivated in photovoltaic array in the dry–hot valley of southwest China, with an off-site native land serving as the control. Sixteen soil physicochemical and biochemical parameters were measured in the gap and under-panel and control area. Results demonstrated that the agrivoltaic system significantly enhanced soil moisture, organic carbon, nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium nutrients, microbial biomass, and urease activity. It also led to varying degrees of increase in soil pH and electrical conductivity, along with reduced soil sucrase and phosphatase activity. In comparison to the control, the agrivoltaic system notably improved soil quality and multifunctionality. Specially, gap cultivation had a more pronounced positive impact on soil quality than under-panel cultivation, and the cultivation of peanuts had a greater effect on soil quality and multifunctionality improvement than ryegrass. This study provides fundamental data to support the improvement of land quality in photovoltaic developed regions, and to alleviate the conflict between photovoltaics and agricultural land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean is a crop with major benefits for the environment, under the conditions of using good agricultural practices, by fixing atmospheric nitrogen which reduces fertilization with mineral nitrogen and its leaching. The integration of soybean in the crop rotation is beneficial and can create conditions for its relaunch and long-term viability so that European consumption can be covered and the dependence on imports can be reduced. The case study carried out on two farms in Romania, South - Muntenia Region, highlighted that, under irrigation conditions, this crop had productions of over 4,000 kg/ha. The capitalization price increased during the analysis period, so the farms recorded a positive and ascending result in the period 2019-2021, except the 600 ha farm, which in 2019, recorded a loss because the crop was not irrigated and the production average (1,712 kg/ha) was insufficient for profit obtaining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper was to assess the production capacity of the lands in Periam, Timiș County, in wheat, barley, corn, and sunflower. We chose 17 more important and better determining indicators and, based on them, we established, for each crop, the credit ratings, after which we classified the soils in the studied area into fertility classes. In accordance with the methodology for developing pedological studies, the degree of suitability was determined for each of the four crops: 91.73% of the area of this locality is represented by agricultural land, of which arable land represents 79.22%. and 0.41% is forested land. Following the evaluation of arable land (4,663 ha), it was found that 45.38% fall into the first class, 33.63% in Class II, 20.10% in Class III, and 0.89% in Class IV, with an average grade of 75. This makes these lands highly productive. As a general conclusion, each farmer should periodically evaluate the fertility of the farm soils, make a balance of the nutrient requirements for each crop by considering the plants' requirements according to the vegetation phase, the technology applied, the local soil land climate conditions based on realistic forecasts. In this way, a series of costs with fertilizers and soil work are reduced, the excess is eliminated, and the deficiency of nutrients is corrected, the recommended doses are fractionated and applied differently depending on the needs of the plant, the humidity, the reaction and the texture of the soil. Following the results obtained, it appears that these lands have a high production capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses a very topical issue, climate changes, increasingly present recently, with negative effects on our entire existence, with repercussions on agriculture and the way food is produced in general. In the last decade, climate changes have been increasingly present and adapting to these changes is essential. In this paper, two crops, barley and alfalfa are presented, and how these climate changes produced in the Sânnicolau Mare area during 2020-2022 had negative effects on the soils and, above all, on the production of barley and the number of mows in alfalfa. In the elaboration of the paper, the bibliographic study was combined with a series of laboratory analyses regarding the properties of the two types of soil identified. The idea was developed on the basis that we monitored the annual thermal and pluviometric regimes impact on crops and on soil evolution, through their distribution and through the specific adaptability of the plants to risk conditions in a short period of time. These climatic changes are obvious not only from one year or from one season to another: they appear within the same locality bringing obvious changes in terms of the amount of precipitation in a certain area of that locality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alien plant species regularly and simultaneously invade agricultural landscapes and ecosystems; however, the effects of co-invasion on crop production and native biodiversity have rarely been studied. Secondary metabolites produced by alien plants may be allelopathic; if they enter the soil, they may be transported by agricultural activities, negatively affecting crop yield and biodiversity. It is unknown whether substances from different alien species in combination have a greater impact on crops and wild plants than if they are from only one of the alien species. In this study, we used a set of common garden experiments to test the hypothesis that mixed extracts from two common invasive species have synergistic effects on crops and weeds (defined as all non-crop plants) in European agricultural fields compared to single-species extracts. We found that both the combined and individual extracts had detrimental effects on the seed germination, seedling growth, biomass, and photosynthetic performance of both crops and weeds. We found that the negative effect of mixed extracts was not additive and that crop plants were more strongly affected by invasive species extracts than the weeds. Our results are important for managing invasive species in unique ecosystems on agricultural land and preventing economic losses in yield production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate estimation and effective portioning of actual evapotranspiration ( ET a ) into soil evaporation (E) and plant transpiration (T) are important for increasing water use efficiency (WUE) and optimizing irrigation schedules in croplands. In this study, E/T partitioning was performed on ET a rates measured using the eddy covariance (EC) technique in three winter wheat growing seasons from October 2020 to June 2023. The variation in the crop coefficients ( K c , α, and K Hc ) were quantified by combining the ET a and reference evapotranspiration rates using the Penman–Monteith, Priestley–Taylor, and Hargreaves equations. In addition, the application of models based on the modified crop coefficient ( K c , α, and K Hc ) was proposed to estimate the ET a rates. According to the obtained results, the average cumulative ET a , T, and E rates in the three winter wheat growth seasons were 471.4, 265.2, and 206.3 mm, respectively. The average T/ ET a ratio ranged from 0.16 to 0.72 at the different winter wheat growth stages. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) affected the ET a rates at a threshold of 1.27 KPa. The average K c , α, and K Hc values in the middle stage were 1.34, 1.54, and 1.21, respectively. The measured ET a rates and ET a rates estimated using the adjusted K c , α, and K Hc showed regression slope coefficients of 0.96, 0.99, and 0.96, and coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.92, 0.93, and 0.90, respectively. Therefore, the Priestley–Taylor-equation-based adjusted crop coefficient is recommended. The adjusted crop-coefficient-based models can be used as valuable tools for local policymakers to effectively improve water use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy crops are a new player in the traditional agricultural landscape. The present paper analyses the land uses surrounding and the spatial characteristics of the main energy crops in Sweden (willow, poplar, hybrid aspen and reed canary grass) compared to traditional agricultural crops during the period 2006–2018. Spatial metrics (number of shape characterising points, shape index and rectangularity ratio) are calculated for each field, as well as the nearby land uses at varying distances, at radius: 500 m, 1000 m, 2000 m and 5000 m. A total of 1560 energy crop fields are studied in the 2006 dataset and 3416 fields in the 2018 dataset, which are compared to 58,246 fields with cereal crops in 2006 and 131,354 fields in the 2018 dataset. Results show that, despite being established on previous agricultural land, energy crops present a different spatial profile compared to traditional agricultural crops. Field shapes present less complexity than before, and the overall spatial features become more regular with time in both cases of energy crops and cereals, suggesting an increasing trend in cost-efficient agricultural practices and planning. Important differences concerning land use diversity at different scales are found between plantations versus grasses. In general, willow plantations are located in agriculture-dominated areas (> 70% at 500 m, > 50% at 2000 m), whereas reed canary grass is in forest-dominated landscapes (> 30% at 500 m, > 60% at 2000 m); both contribute to diversifying existing land uses although with varying effects. The results of this study are a basis to assess the impacts of energy crops at landscape level and can translate into applications in energy policy and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Valorisation of marginal agricultural land in the bioeconomy" is a document that emphasizes the significance of utilizing marginal, abandoned, and degraded land for biomass production in the bioeconomy. It specifically focuses on the potential of these lands to provide low indirect land use change (iLUC) risk biomass, aligning with the Renewable Energy Directive RED II. The document is divided into four sections, which cover topics such as assessing potential crop cultivation on marginal land, industrial crop cultivation using miscanthus, biomass utilization, and environmental, social, and techno-economic life cycle assessments. The document offers valuable insights and recommendations for policymakers to support perennial cropping systems in the European Union. It also explores the use of multispectral imaging to study plant responses to drought conditions and the importance of end-of-season ripening behavior for maintaining high yields when using miscanthus biomass for bioeconomy purposes. The potential of miscanthus biomass for producing high-value chemicals and materials is discussed, as well as the impact of biomass quality on material properties. The document emphasizes the need for monitoring the environmental and social impacts of transitioning to a green bioeconomy and provides policy recommendations for the development of perennial biomass crops. The authors acknowledge funding from the European Union for their research projects. [Extracted from the article]

Using satellite imagery, this study investigates the spectral reflectance characteristics of crops at the OHMK farm in Eastern Kazakhstan, focusing on wheat and barley. The analysis reveals significant differences in spectral re- flectance, particularly in the visible and near-infrared regions, and tracks change over time during different growth stages. Employing principal component analysis (PCA), strong correlations are observed between specific spectral bands and principal components, providing insights into crop variability. Derived equations enable the estimation of principal component values based on spectral information. These findings have implications for crop monitoring, management, and precision agriculture, offering potential yield optimization and resource allocation improvements. The study highlights the potential use of spectral reflectance analysis for crop health assessment and yield prediction, with implications for agricultural decision-making and enhanced productivity. Further research is needed to expand the application of this approach to other crops and conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last three decades, the Government of India (GOI) has used watershed management as a solution to solve issues concerning sustainable agricultural output in rainfed areas. Additionally, since 2003, the GOI has made watershed management a national policy. A lot of thought is given to all of the significant crops that have disappeared from farming systems in the watershed development programs (WDPs) of India's current development plans, which are primarily focused on increasing and sustaining productivity levels. In the Sarguja division of Chhattisgarh, the present study attempted to document the on-site and off-site effects of these watershed development programs, as it observed an increase in the ground water level, a rise in the surface water and stream flow levels, a reduction in runoff as well as in soil erosion, increased agricultural and dairy production, improved livelihood and employment generation, and changes in the land use and farming patterns. These findings showed that the percentage of cropland increased in both Kharif and Rabi, because they started planting crops in Zaid, particularly cucumber, melon, and vegetables, that had been kept fallow. The patterns of land usage in the WDP regions have improved over time; due to farmers utilizing more wasteland for productive reasons, there has been a rise in the net sown area of these locations. Additionally, it has been claimed that many crops that were previously abandoned due to water shortages and other requirements are now being cultivated. Responses from the region's population have been in favor of the introduction of innovative techniques like Agroforestry systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Pochazia shantungensis (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Ricaniidae) for the EU following commodity risk assessments of Malus domestica, Prunus persica, P. dulcis and Robinia pseudoacacia plants for planting from Türkiye in which P. shantungensis was identified as a pest that could potentially enter the EU. The native range of P. shantungensis is China (Shaanxi, Shandong and Zhejiang provinces), but around 2010, the species entered the Republic of Korea and rapidly spread. Small and localised populations were also recently found in Türkiye (Marmara) and southern Russia (Krasnodyarskiy kray). Within the EU, a few individuals have been recorded in Italy (Pistoia province, Tuscany), in one locality in southern France (Alpes‐Maritimes), in the Netherlands (Western Netherlands) and in one garden in Germany (Baden‐Württemberg) where it was eradicated. P. shantungensis is not listed in Annex II of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072. It is polyphagous, feeding on plants belonging to more than 200 species including many crop and ornamental plants. Economically important hosts in the EU include apple (M. domestica), citrus (Citrus spp.), walnut (Castanea sp.) and ornamentals such as hibiscus (Hibiscus spp.) and camellia (Camellia japonica), as well as forest trees, mostly deciduous. In the Republic of Korea, the species has one generation per year. It overwinters as eggs and goes through five nymphal instars. Its impact is due to oviposition obstructing the vascular system of its hosts, depletion of the host resources and egestion of honeydew promoting the development of sooty moulds. Plants for planting constitute the main pathway for entry into the EU and for spread. Climatic conditions in southern EU countries and host plant availability in those areas would allow establishment and spread. The introduction of P. shantungensis is expected to have an economic impact in the EU through the reduction in yield, quality and commercial value of fruits and ornamental plants. Phytosanitary measures are available to reduce the likelihood of entry and further spread. P. shantungensis meets the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is very different from other economic activities, due to the fact that, on the one hand, agricultural activity is conditioned by the biological evolution of plants and animals, and on the other hand, it provides food for the population. Through this paper, the authors provide a clearer picture of the evolution of vegetable agricultural production in Caraș-Severin county. With an area of 386,778 ha, Caraș-Severin County owns 3.6% of the country's surface, ranking third among the country's counties. Although Caraş-Severin county is the third largest in the country, in terms of agricultural area (386,778 ha), it only ranks 13th, due to the predominantly mountainous terrain. Of all the existing agricultural lands in the studied area, about 82% are located on sloping lands, due to the relief which is mostly mountainous, not being suitable for large agricultural crops. Thanks to the involvement of local authorities and the data obtained from the National Institute of Statistics and other bibliographic sources, we were able to observe and compare the evolution, over time, of the vegetable agricultural production in Caraș-Severin County. The centralization, processing and interpretation of the data also allowed the formulation of the main conclusions with reference to the vegetable agricultural potential of the studied area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inventories of agricultural diversity in peasant farms in three municipalities in Granma province, were performed. Species number and area per crop were counted and classified taxonomically. The number of species was determinated by farms, the importance of the species given by the frequency of occurrence in agroecosystems studied. Results indicated that agrobiodiversity of the evaluated properties is represented by 27 species belonging to 17 botanical families. The largest number of managed species was achieved on farms "Bella Luisa" of Guisa municipality and "El Bosque" from Jiguaní with 11 and 10 species respectively. The wealth of species by crop group was dominated by vegetables and fruits. It concluded that diversity of crops of economic importance in the farms are low. The crops in the farm are closely related with basic nutrition, where predominated crops rich in carbohydrates, wilts that the source of vegetal protein is represented only by bean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial modeling is one of the important tools in the geographic information systems environment that is used to show the causal relationships between the spatial variables of various phenomena. (overlay) to get accurate results. The main idea is based on building a geographic information base (Geo database) that organizes data on the phenomenon of the study area represented by environmental factors and agricultural crops in the form of layers so that each layer represents a specific topic, the aim of which is to prepare a spatial modeling map of agricultural land from matching each of the (structure) maps geology, elevations, slope, slope direction, soil, soil productive capacity) after studying and analyzing each one separately using Model Builder in ARC GIS 10.8.2 program to find out the best suitable places for agricultural crops in Al-Hamdaniya district and compare them with the crops actually planted for the year 2021. The study showed that the agricultural crops grown in Al-Hamdaniya district are located within the very good and good areas for cultivation, while there is little or no cultivation in the areas that are not suitable for cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the demand for food, humanity has begun to use the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and drones, in addition to advanced tractors, seeds, and crop planting methods. Precision agriculture has been achieved by using the latest technology in this field, especially in recent years, the use of drones for agricultural land spraying has gained great interest. In this study, a Python programming language was used to process the video footage of a certain height taken from agricultural land with the help of a drone, using individual photo frames obtained from the footage. Each pixel was separated into different color contrast values, and certain colors were distinguished by counting. The proportional distribution of different types of surfaces on the land was determined. The software enabled the determination of various geophysical properties such as the productivity of crops, crop development status, and identification of areas where the crop does not grow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agrivoltaics power generation is the simultaneous use of agricultural land and photovoltaic panels. In such cases, the panels are placed more sparsely, compared to conventional photovoltaic plants. Furthermore, the panels might be mounted at higher heights, to provide the required space for the farm. Due to this arrangement of the panels in wide areas with crops on the farm, maintenance of the panels is a hard task. The major part of maintenance is to clean the panels, since the accumulation of farm dust and bird excrement can reduce the efficiency of the panels. In Agrivoltaics plants, the panels can be scattered, thus it is not economical for each panel to have a dedicated cleaning robot. This paper presents the initial design and analysis of an automated system for cleaning such power plants. This system consists of a robotic AGV, which transfers a panel cleaner between the photovoltaic panels mounted over the farms. The initial design is presented. Then, to anticipate the required power and control system, the carrier kinetics and kinematics are modeled and validated through simulations. Then, position and trajectory controllers are designed and simulations are presented. The simulations show desired performance for the introduced controlled system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated fish farming focuses on a variety of agricultural possibilities mainly emphasizing fish farming in conjunction with crop and/or livestock farming. The present study was carried out to examine the influence of such an integrated farming system (IFS) on the livelihood of farmers in the state of Manipur, which is in the Northeastern region of India. Changes in the level of livelihood security and livelihood status were assessed for a sample of 300 farmers, who have adopted four major types of IFS, viz, fish-vegetable crop farming based IFS, fish-paddy crop farming based IFS, fish-vegetable-oilseed crop farming based IFS, and fish-crop-livestock based IFS. The adoption of IFS has increased farmers' economic stability and social standing, and the system is found to be economically feasible and sustainable. Farmers adopting fish-crop-livestock based IFS (primarily fish-piggery-poultry based IFS) have the highest food and nutrition security and overall livelihood security. Out of five livelihood assets (physical, social, financial, human, and natural), IFS has influenced farmers' financial assets holding the most. An overall improvement of 26.83% in the respondents' standard of living is realized by the farmers when they adopted the IFS. Considering the consequences of different types of IFS on farm livelihoods, the most beneficial models like fish and/or crop and/or livestock based IFS may be upscaled as these integrations result in the effective use of the waste products from crop and/or livestock system to produce diverse fish varieties. It has also improved farmers' livelihoods by generating consistent income and employment opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potassium (K) helps crop plants to resist biotic and abiotic challenges and plays a vital role in biochemical, metabolic, and physiological processes. Due to intense agricultural practices over the past few decades, the soil K reserve has been observed to be decreasing globally. It is possible to view potassium-solubilizing bacteria (KSB), which uses a number of biological mechanisms to convert potassium from inaccessible forms and make it accessible to crop plants, as a viable method for managing K in soils with low potassium levels. The present study encompasses 44 KSB strains isolated from rhizospheric soils collected from southern Rajasthan, India and characterized based on morphological, biochemical, and molecular profiles. All the isolates exhibited potassium solubilization and were identified using ERIC, BOX, REP PCR, and 16 S rDNA amplification which exhibited significant diversity amongst the strains. A flame-photometric analysis revealed that significant amounts of potassium were released by isolates from muscovite mica on the 21st day of incubation. These KSB strains produced hydrolytic enzymes and plant growth-promoting activities at different environmental stresses. In comparison to the absolute control (control without KSB), maize seedlings grown from bacterized seeds showed an increase in shoot length, root length, leaf number, total chlorophyll content, and the expression of stress-related enzymes. These native strains, which have a variety of advantageous traits, may be able to replace synthetic K fertilizers in order to increase food production while reducing pollution and restoring degraded land for agricultural use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aimed to evaluate the influence of three agroforestry models on water quality in the municipality of Mutiscua, Norte de Santander. The three models consisted of an alder forest, a blackberry or plum tree fruit tree and a short-cycle crop of maize, carrot and tree tomato. The physicochemical variables of the irrigation water of five farms in each model were determined before implementing the crops and 10 months after planting. An ANOVA was performed between the models before planting and a comparison by Student's t-test with the results before and after, with a confidence level of 5 %. The results of the initial sampling did not prevent the use of water from the farms for irrigation of the crops of the agroforestry models planned in the municipality. The intervention of the project with the implemented crops provoked changes in the physicochemical variables of the water supply sources to the farms. The highest number of influenced variables was registered in the alder-blackberry-tomato tree model, although the variations did not modify the quality of irrigation water, they constitute a warning to counteract the increase in sodium concentrations and hardness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of land resources requires the use of technologies that match the potential productivity of soils, as well as their conservation and improvement. This is key to ensuring food production of the required quality and quantity. At present, the management of agricultural scenarios is one of the most pressing issues of these times, due to the loss of properties that soils have suffered as a result of their inadequate use. In the current context of Cuba, with a policy oriented towards the production of idle land, to be granted as usufruct for agricultural management based on actions that are less aggressive to the environment and more resilient to climate change, it is important to have an inventory of the available land, as well as its classification according to its productive potential, in order to plan its exploitation according to scientific criteria. To this end, it is necessary to implement strategies with holistic approaches that take into account the suitability of land for the most promising uses, in order to ensure sustainable agricultural management based on the balance between environmental supply and demand, as well as the sustainable production of food in the required quantity and quality, leading to food self-sufficiency and the reduction of imports, as stipulated in the Food Security and Sovereignty Act and the territorial development policies of the 2030 Agenda. In this sense, the work is oriented towards carrying out an analysis of the current situation of soils dedicated to agricultural production in Cuba. It presents their spatial distribution, main characteristics and limiting factors for agricultural production, as well as the use and management to which they are subjected in relation to their characteristics and water availability as fundamental elements to guarantee sustainable food production. It also presents the integrated approach to land management used as a framework at the Agrarian University of Havana to contribute to the sustainable management of these resources and thus to the country's food security. Among the case studies presented is an analysis of the spatial distribution of the main agricultural soils in the province of "Mayabeque", based on the National Soil Map at a scale of 1:25,000. Using the tools provided by the geographical information system (GIS) platform and the available information on these soils, it was possible to determine their spatial distribution at the municipal level, their main limiting factors and their productive potential for crops of economic interest in the study region. It was found that the predominant soils are those of the ferrellitic red type, which represent 33.90% of the total, followed by the sialitic brown type with 20.40%. The least representative are the Ferrritic group, and the Purple Ferrritic, Ferrallitic Quartzite Yellow Leached and Greyish Brown types. On a more detailed scale, taking as a reference the "Guayabal" University Farm of the Agrarian University of Havana, with an area of 846.6 ha, it was found that the predominant soils on the farm are of the Ferrallitic Red Leached type, accounting for 58.97% of the total. The main agronomic limiting factors are low effective depth, poor drainage and compaction, among others. This was used as a basis for recommending an action plan aimed at training social actors to develop capacities and support the decision-making process related to the use and management of soils for sustainable agricultural exploitation. Similarly, in the municipality of El Salvador, province of Guantánamo, an assessment was made of the responsiveness of the territory to per capita food production, based on the application of quantitative and qualitative indicators of the territory's food vulnerability. This was based on the evaluation of the physical suitability of the land for 10 types of land use, including agriculture, forestry and livestock, and the analysis resulting from the evaluation of conflicts with current land use. This, together with other selected quantitative indicators, provides a sustainable solution to the analysis of agricultural land use and food vulnerability of its agro-ecosystems to strengthen the responsiveness of the territory. As a further case study, the effect of irrigation water management on some soil properties and the yield of crops of agricultural interest is evaluated, supported by simulation models (Cropwat, DSSAT). An excessive application of irrigation with very short intervals (5 days on average) was found, as well as an insufficient uniformity of the applied water sheet, with a weighted uniformity coefficient of 63.8% in the case of centre pivot machines. This situation affects both soil degradation and the physiological development of the crop, as well as the unnecessary use of water and energy, leading to significant economic losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper refers to the soils in Giarmata, Timiș County, the occupied areas and the way of use, presenting the main limiting factors and the classification in quality and fertility classes of the main agricultural crops in the current context of climatic changes. The objectives referred to: description and presentation of the soil and climatic conditions of the area; presentation of the main soil types in the Giamata area and description of those taken in the study; listing the main classes of quality, respectively fertility; determination of limiting factors and description of the processes taking place; description of soil types on which the research has been carried out; classification of land in quality classes according to the credit marks obtained for the main agricultural crops (maize, wheat, barley and sunflower) during 2021-2022. The studied material refers to the identification, presentation and description of the main types of soils identified in this area, namely: preluvosols, alluvials, chernozems, vertosols, pelosols, gleysols and stagnosols. Giarmata commune is located in the central-northern part of Timis County, at a distance of 11 km from Timişoara and 1.3 km from Timişoara International Airport. The locality is situated at an altitude between 100 and 150 m, with a weak fragmentation and low relief energy, occupying a total area of 7150 ha, of which 6292 ha represents agricultural land and 43.5 ha forest. The studies were carried out on 158 ha, divided into 5 plots, with areas between 22 and 43 ha. The main crops were maize (83 ha), wheat (44 ha), sunflower (20 ha and barley (8 ha). The lowest average temperature was recorded in February, 2021, namely -2.0°C. The absolute minimum temperature during the same period was -27.2°C on 16 February 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton is represented the most important crop produced by Egypt. the relative importance of the cotton area in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate increased to 35.9%. while the relative importance of cotton production in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate did not exceed 33.3% compared to the area and production of cotton in Egypt. which called for interest in estimating the efficiency of using economic resources in cotton production farms in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate. this objective was achieved by using DEA to estimate the technical and economic efficiency of 60 farms as study sample. which were divided into three categories. The results of the study showed that the technical efficiency according to the concept of constant return to capacity ranged between 89% for the second category and 98% for the first category. the smallest area to indicate the importance of capacity economies. in contrast. the third category of sample farms was distinguished being the largest. the area achieved the highest estimate of economic efficiency 87%. followed by the first category with 86%. and the second category achieved the lowest estimate for the economic efficiency index. 77%. Recommendations: The efficient use of the used production elements to achieve technical and economic efficiency. also it is necessary to focus the efforts of the development and improvement programs on the categories of the second and primary farms. whose area ranges between an acre and less than an acre. as the estimates of economic efficiency indicators were the lowest among the categories of the study sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The profitability of maize cultivation depends on the production yield of this crop. This paper presents the analysis of the yield and profitability of maize cultivation in three crop farms of different sizes in Romania. From the analysis carried out, a number of results are obtained, which lead to the conclusion that in order to reach the profitability threshold, the production in the 60 ha farm would have to be at least 133.26 tons of maize in 2019, at least 85.83 tons of maize in 2020, and at least 165.56 tons of maize in 2021; in the 600 ha farm, the production in 2019 would have to be at least 2.350.23 tons of maize in 2019, 2,198.44 tons of maize in 2020, and 3,172.33 tons of maize in 2021; and in the 3,000 ha farm, the production should have been at least 4,157.75 tons of maize in 2019, 4,424.70 tons of maize in 2020, and 6,284.46 tons of maize in 2021. These productions were made only by the farm of 3,000 ha, which had a constant profitability of the maize crop, exceeding the profitability threshold every year, as follows: in 2019 with 2,216.85 tons of maize, in 2020 with 2,738.60 tons of maize and in 2021 with 3,887.34 tons. On farms of 60 ha and 600 ha, the profitability threshold could not be reached, in most cases, the major causes being of agropedoclimatic and economic nature. The conclusion of the analysis carried out was that, in order to have a constant profitability of the maize crop, it is necessary to counteract the drought by introducing irrigation to this crop, reducing production expenses and increasing the value of subsidies, so that the gross product highlights the profitability of the maize crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop an estimation procedure that generates consistent estimates of the technology parameters, long-run (persistent) and short-run (transient) technical inefficiencies and the marginal effects of their determinants for the stochastic frontier model developed by Colombi et al. (2014, Journal of Productivity Analysis 42, 123) and Kumbhakar et al. (2014, Journal of Productivity Analysis 41, 321). Our approach accounts for three sources of potential endogeneity: (i) unobserved heterogeneity; (ii) simultaneity of input use with both types of technical efficiency; (iii) potential correlation of the noise term with the regressors. Using this approach we examine the effect of direct payments and farm size on the persistent and transient technical efficiency of French crop farms before and after the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy decoupling reform of 2003. Our results show that subsidy payments per hectare of utilised agricultural land had a significant positive effect on persistent technical efficiency and a significant negative effect on transient technical efficiency during the period before decoupling. For the period after the reform, the effect of subsidies is found to be significantly negative for persistent technical efficiency and insignificant for transient technical efficiency. The overall effect of subsidies on technical efficiency is found to be negative in both periods, albeit substantially lower in the period after decoupling. The effect of farm size on technical efficiency is found to be significant only for the period prior to the reform: it reduced persistent technical inefficiency but increased transient technical inefficiency during that period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural crop production was affected worldwide due to the variability of weather causing floods or droughts. In climate change impacts, flood becomes the most devastating in deltaic regions due to the inundation of crops within a short period of time. Therefore, the aim of this study was to propose climate-adaptive crops that are suitable for the flood inundation in risk-prone areas of Bangladesh. The research area included two districts adjacent to the Jamuna River in Bangladesh, covering an area of 5489 km2, and these districts were classified as highly to moderately vulnerable due to inundation by flood water during the seasonal monsoon time. In this study, first, an inundation vulnerability map was prepared from the multicriteria analysis by applying a fuzzy expert system in the GIS environment using satellite remote sensing datasets. Among the analyzed area, 42.3% was found to be highly to moderately vulnerable, 42.1% was marginally vulnerable and 15.6% was not vulnerable to inundation. Second, the most vulnerable areas for flooding were identified from the previous major flood events and cropping practices based on the crop calendar. Based on the crop adaptation suitability analysis, two cash crops, sugarcane and jute, were recommended for cultivation during major flooding durations. Finally, a land suitability analysis was conducted through multicriteria analysis applying a fuzzy expert system. According to our analysis, 28.6% of the land was highly suitable, 27.9% was moderately suitable, 19.7% was marginally suitable and 23.6% of the land was not suitable for sugarcane and jute cultivation in the vulnerable areas. The inundation vulnerability and suitability analysis proposed two crops, sugarcane and jute, as potential candidates for climate-adaptive selection in risk-prone areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimized system of forest strips in Ukraine had been developed on the landscape and ecological bases in order to ensure the formation of a sustainable agroforestry landscape; stabilize the ecological state, preserve the natural resource potential of a studied area, and create optimal conditions for the growth, development, and productivity of agricultural crops. Over nearly a hundred years, there have been developed the principles of combining tree and shrubby species, optimal designs of forest strips, their width parameters, species composition and placement of planting groupings, and their location in the fields. Also, agrotechnical and forestry measures for their care were designed in different soil and climatic conditions of Ukraine. All accounted factors would provide the maximum ecological and economic effects with a minimum planting. The paper presents the results of phytodiversity study and initiated studies of the syntaxonomy of field-protective forest strips in the regions of Ukraine. The issues of the global practice of field-protective afforestation, which is part of the newest direction -- agroforestry, were highlighted. They combine the simultaneous cultivation of tree and shrubby species and agricultural crops in the same areas for environmental, economic, and social benefits. The authors analyzed the current situation related to forest strips in Ukraine and described the negative changes that have occurred over the past thirty years. Mitigation of natural and anthropogenic threats in agricultural lands is a chalange due to the lack of comprehensive land-reclamation measures in agricultural landscapes and the strengthening of degradation processes caused by the global climate change. We conducted analysis and assessment of the state of forest strips and changes they have underwent because of military operations, concluding that optimizing the windbreak system in Ukraine as a particularly effective environment-forming factor is now especially relevant and requires research, updated using modern methods. For this purpose, one should take into account their intended purpose, spatial orientation, placement, optimal composition, considering typological characteristics, design parameters, and other forest-reclamation characteristics, identification of their syntaxonomic diversity, and identifying regularities in formation and differentiation and development of scientific bases of optimization. It would ensure the maximum efficiency of developing conditions for ecological rehabilitation of forest strips and increase their ecological capacity, and, in general, would promote balanced development of agroecosystems. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to analyze the current state of forest strips in Ukraine and substantiate the need to conduct priority measures to restore their functioning as forest-reclamation objects in connection with the latest circumstances in the conditions of military operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying the step-by-step correction model, according to the method of "light and temperature" step-by-step attenuation, the agricultural land grading crops in Hohhot City from 2010 to 2020 is calculated daily: corn, wheat, soybean thermal production potential, and their light-temperature potential is calculated. yield gap, that is, the difference between the actual unit yield of the leading producing county and the TPP of the corresponding meteorological site. The results show that the solar radiation in Hohhot had an upward trend in the past ten years, and the spatial variation trend is high in the west and low in the east. The TPP of its agricultural land grading crops has shown an upward trend in the past ten years. Regarding spatial distribution, the TPP of farmland is higher in the south and lower in the north, and the city generally shows an increasing trend. In the past ten years, the actual yield per unit of farmland in the eastern part of Hohhot has been relatively low, and the production difference between light and temperature has decreased from south to north and east to west. This study can provide a reference for the rational use of light and temperature resources in Hohhot in the future, guide agricultural production, cultivate land evaluation, give full play to the potential of light and temperature products in the region, and improve regional productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence of anthropogenic climate change suggests marked changes in agricultural ecosystems and crop suitability across the globe. Northern Europe is primarily predicted to see beneficial impacts through crop shifts towards the North of the region. However, studies that quantify the magnitude of climate induced past shifts and the likely future shifts in the agricultural land use patterns are lacking. We use a rich municipality level longitudinal data set from the Nordic region from 1979 to 2012 to study farmers' adaptation to climate change in terms of crop mix shift. We model four land use classes, namely, cereal, grass, oil seed, and 'others', a category summing the remaining agricultural land uses. On top of climatic variables, we include biophysical and economic variables as controls in the regression. We utilize a multinomial fractional logit regression to estimate changes in the land use mix. The projection results indicate that both the near future (2041–2070) and the far future (2071–2100) projected climate are likely to increase the area share of cereal and at the same time decrease the share of grass in the Nordic region relative to the baseline climate (1981–2010). However, these results vary across the region. The results generally suggest a moderate climate induced impact on the spatial crop distributions. Our projection results show a moderate shift in agricultural crop distributions depending on the climate scenario and the time-horizon. Depending on the climate change scenario, grass and cereal are expected to shift by up to 92.8 and 178.7 km, respectively, towards opposite directions; grass towards the South–West and cereal towards the North–East. Overall, the projected areal expansion of cereal towards the North–East is expected to lead to increased environmental pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaerobic digestion (AD) involves the breakdown of a substrate by mixed microbial communities in the absence of free oxygen. This process has many benefits leading to the production of bioenergy (biogas) and fertilizers (bio-fertilizers). Unfortunately, the bio-fertilizer made using AD may be contaminated with weed seeds and may have the potential of infesting the fields to which it is applied. Thus, the goal of this study is to determine the effects of AD on seed germination and viability of two undesirable crop plants (Triticum aestivum and Sorghum bicolor) and four weed species of reclaimed agricultural land near Qena, Egypt (Schouwia purpurea, Polygonum equisetiforme, Amaranthus viridis, and Lotus arabicus). Vegetative biomass of T. aestivum was used as the substrate, and cattle rumen fluid was used as the inoculum. The seeds of the six plants were placed in culture bottles and subjected to AD at 37 ± 2 °C for up to 16 days. Time to first germination (the time required for the first seed to germinate) and the percentage of seeds that germinated varied among the six species. The percentage germination of all six species decreased with increasing duration of AD, with no seeds germinating at 12 or 16 days of incubation. Seeds of T. aestivum and S. bicolor experienced a rapid and significant decrease in the percentage of viable seeds and an increase in the percentage of non-viable seeds. In contrast, even though they did not germinate, some seeds of the other four weed species remained viable, even after 16 days of incubation. Approximately 32% of S. purpurea seeds remained viable at 16 days of incubation. Overall, our results suggested that the application of anaerobic digestate in the reclaimed agricultural lands near Qena, Egypt, is not likely to exacerbate weed infestations in these fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a micro-scale approach for the cropland suitability assessment of permanent crops based on a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a commercially available RGB sensor. The study area was divided into two subsets, with subsets A and B containing tangerine plantations planted during years 2000 and 2008, respectively. The fieldwork was performed on 27 September 2021 by using a Mavic 2 Pro UAV equipped with a commercial RGB sensor. The cropland suitability was performed in a two-step classification process, utilizing: (1) supervised classification with machine learning algorithms for creating a vegetation mask; and (2) unsupervised classification for the suitability assessment according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) land suitability standard. The overall accuracy and kappa coefficients were used for the accuracy assessment. The most accurate combination of the input data and parameters was the classification using ANN with all nine input rasters, managing to utilize complimentary information regarding the study area spectral and topographic properties. The resulting suitability levels indicated positive suitability in both study subsets, with 63.1% suitable area in subset A and 59.0% in subset B. Despite that, the efficiency of agricultural production can be improved by managing crop and soil properties in the currently non-suitable class (N1), providing recommendations for farmers for further agronomic inspection. Alongside low-cost UAV, the open-source GIS software and globally accepted FAO standard are expected to further improve the availability of its application for permanent crop plantation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural production is the basic pillar of food security, but the type of agricultural crops and the quantity of their production are greatly and clearly affected by natural factors of all kinds, and man has evolved in his adaptation to natural conditions in order to serve his various activities, including agricultural activity, but his control in these conditions is limited and still The natural conditions (geological structure, topography, climate, soil, and water resources) are specific to the type and location of the various agricultural activities. The uses of agricultural land are subject to natural controls, since the farmer is in direct contact with it as long as he practices agricultural activity in the open. The current research examined the study of the most important natural factors affecting the production of agricultural crops in Qayyarah district represented by the geological structure and surface appearance represented by (slope) and (elevations) in addition to the soil and its productive capacity and linking it with the production of agricultural crops for the aforementioned region for the year 2021 using geographic information systems techniques. And then building a model for spatial fit and agricultural crop production for the purpose of knowing and identifying the best spatial fit places using spatial analysis tools for the data in Arc GIS V10.8.2 to be of sure benefit as it carries new information extracted or extracted from the spatial analysis. And then the process of matching between the agricultural crop maps with the spatial fit map that was produced. The study showed a close relationship between the natural factors in the study area and the amount of crops planted for the previously mentioned year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smallholder maize and wheat production systems are characterized by high drudgery. On-farm trials were run for three seasons in Ethiopia. The study assessed the effect of 2 WT direct seeding and growing season on (1) soil quality, and (2) maize and wheat productivity, energy and protein gains, and gross margins, on smallholder farms in Ethiopia. For the wheat crop, the effect of different soil types and agroecological conditions on productivity was assessed. The treatments in paired plots were (i) conventional ploughing practice and (ii) no-till (NT). Soil properties, crop yield, nutrition gains and gross margins were determined. No-till improved soil properties in the short term. No-till produced 1210–1559 kg ha−1 grain, 18–29 GJ ha−1 energy and 121–194 kg ha−1 proteins, and generated 358–385 US$ ha−1 more than the conventional practice in the maize system. In the wheat system, no-till treatment had 341–1107 kg ha−1 grain, 5–16 GJ ha−1 energy and 43–137 kg ha−1 proteins, and generated 230–453 US$ ha−1 more than conventional practice. No-till can be more productive and profitable in the Ethiopian maize and wheat-based cropping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aimed to present the practice of mixed farming systems which is based on circularity and proposes stronger links between crops and livestock. It aims to emulate the nutrient circuits resulted from food production based on those in natural systems, shifting from linearity towards cyclicity to reduce anthropic impact. The paper analysed the selected articles in order to identify strategies implemented in mixed farming systems which improve circularity and have positive effects on the environment and presented the results and discussions section in the form of guidelines and based our logic structure on the principles of circularity in agricultural systems. It is recommendable that farmers and stakeholders try to preserve and, where possible, increase the biotic diversity of agricultural landscapes, both in terms of crops and livestock (for example, by using cover crops and intercropping), but also in terms of habitats that can provide beneficial ecosystem services (such as: shelter for natural enemies, nitrogen fixing plants, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cashew is an emerging agricultural export crop in Nigeria. However, significant export earnings have not been recorded in recent years from cashew exports. The study investigated the determinants of the cashew nuts export supply in Nigeria between 1980 and 2019. Secondary data extracted from the publications of the Food and Agriculture Organization statistical database (FAOSTAT), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Means, percentages, and coefficient of variations were the descriptive statistical tools used, while Augment Dickey-Fuller (ADF), Johansen co-integration and vector error correction model (VECM) were the inferential statistical tools employed in the study. ADF and Johansen's results show that the variables of the model were stationary after the first difference and co-integrated. Domestic production export supply and earnings fluctuated over the period of the study with a mean of 247,560.70 tonnes, 33,010.22 tonnes, and ₦47,462.43 million respectively. The average annual growth rate of cashew nuts production, export supply, and export earnings was 197.98 percent and 565.79 percent respectively VECM result reveals that domestic cashew nut production and exchange rate have asymmetric influence and cashew nuts export supply in the short run, while agricultural land area, cashew nuts production and inflation rate negatively influence cashew nuts export supply in the short run, but exchange rate positively influences cashew nut export supply in the long run. It is concluded that agricultural land area domestic production, of cashew nuts, exchange, and inflation rate significantly influence the export supply of cashew nuts in the study area. Thus, significant policy reform on the production of cashew nuts, exchange, and the inflation rate would improve exports supply of cashew nuts significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study’s specific objective is to identify prospective cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale) producing areas in the Bankura district based on soil availability and land suitability in red and lateritic soil. The index of crop suitability (ICS) analysis was carried out utilizing the Fuzzy-analytical hierarchy process (F-AHP) approach and 16 geo-environmental variables such as soil texture, soil organic carbon (OC), Soil electrical conductivity (EC), soil pH, slope, rainfall, etc. The criteria were also developed following FAO’s crop suitability index for the distinction between S (suitable) and N (unsuitable) order. According to the cashew suitability class, 9.24% of cashew growth regions can be categorised as highly suitable, 34.57% as moderately suitable, and 19.59% as marginally suitable. The F-AHP weight shows the important factors of cashew cultivation that are soil OC and EC. The results demonstrate that cashew production is more beneficial in the red and lateritic soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Locusts belong to the group family Acrididae which are short-horned grasshoppers that have a swarming phase. A rapid increase in human population, whereas agricultural land has been used for non-agricultural means as well as for housing and urbanization causes rapid shrinkage of food resources. Locusts produce five times more macronutrients, fats, and minerals per unit of fodder than cattle, and locusts' attack on farm crops dates back to when man began farming. So keeping in view the importance related to consumption and its effect on human life this study was conducted. Conventional and non-conventional strategies are used to control the locusts. Synthetic insecticides have historically been used to control grasshoppers and locusts, and this is unlikely to alter in an emergency. However, the need for biological control is rising as people become more aware of the environmental problems connected to acridid management as well as the high costs of emergency control. The financial and environmental costs of large-scale plague treatments will be decreased, in particular, by preventive, integrated control techniques with early interventions. Moreover, Metarhizium anisopliae, a fungus, and its spores are naturally present in the green muscles of locusts, and germinated on the locust's skin, could penetrate inside their body through exoskeletons. Ultimately, the tissues of the locust can be destroyed from the inside due to the presence of such fungus. So it is concluded that the overlooked situation of locusts' swarms may result in the deprivation of a huge population of humans from food and pose severe threats to food security soon. Therefore, it has become imperative to evolve efficient pragmatic strategies beyond the conventional ones to get rid of the locust by avoiding its attack on farm crops, which has lasting implications. Moreover, efforts should be made to exploit the locusts' swarms entering the food chain by using these in livestock, poultry, and aquaculture feed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]