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This study explored the efficacy of soil aggregate indices in quantifying soil structural development, utilizing 5‐year field experiment data from the Southeastern United States. The experiment utilized a split‐plot design with cover crops (native vegetation as control, cereal rye (Secale cereale L.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), and mustard (Brassica rapa) plus cereal rye as the main factor and fertilizer source (no fertilizer as control, inorganic fertilizer with phosphorus, potassium, and elemental sulfur, and poultry litter) as the secondary factor. Aggregate size fractions were determined using the wet‐sieving method, and aggregate stability index (ASI), mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean diameter (GMD), and fractal dimension (FD) were calculated to assess soil structural stability. Main effects results indicated that cereal rye (55.11%) and poultry litter (50.97%) exhibited the highest ASI values. The highest MWD, GMD, and FD were observed under mustard plus cereal rye (1.187 mm), cereal rye (0.462 mm), and hairy vetch (2.573), respectively. Principal component analysis revealed that cover crops significantly improved soil aggregate structure and stability, overcoming limitations of sole fertilization practices. Regression analysis suggested that ASI, MWD, and GWD positively correlated with soil organic carbon, whereas FD negatively correlated with MWD, GMD, and ASI. Principal component analysis exhibited that FD decreased with increasing soil organic carbon, ASI, MWD, and GMD, demonstrating that lower FD values indicate enhanced soil aggregation and structure. Assessed indices, FD included, effectively gauged soil structural stability. These metrics should be prioritized in managerial decisions to support soil productivity and health in agricultural systems. Core Ideas: The application of cereal rye and poultry litter increased the aggregate stability index (ASI).Poultry litter addition was beneficial to improving mean weight diameter (MWD).ASI, MWD, and geometric mean diameter (GMD) positively correlated with soil organic carbon.Fractal dimension (FD) is negatively correlated with MWD, GMD, and ASI.The evaluated indices (ASI, MWD, and GMD) and FD were effective in assessing soil structural stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important strategic crops to overcome food security problems in the world including Ethiopia. This can be achieved through genetic improvement of the crop and its production practices. In this connection, information on the mutual association of traits is important for effective selection in wheat‐breeding programs. In 2021/2022 production year, a field experiment was undertaken to estimate the extent of genetic variability, path analysis, and association of yield and yield‐related characteristics for the selection of desirable wheat genotypes. A total of 64 bread wheat genotypes, including yellow rust‐resistant Boru (resistant), Hachalu (moderately resistant), and Madda‐Walabu (susceptible) as control, were used for the field experiment at Sinana and Agarfa Agricultural Research Centers. The experiment was laid out in a simple alpha lattice design. The mean analysis of variances showed highly significant differences (p < 0.001) for all traits among the tested genotypes. The value of the phenotypic coefficient of variance was higher than the genotypic coefficient of variance for all studied traits, indicating the presences of higher genetic variability among the tested genotypes. Grain yield had a significant positive correlation with days to maturity, grain‐filling period, plant height, kernels spike−1, thousand seed weight, and biological yield at both genotypic and phenotypic levels including spike length at phenotypic levels at both locations and with plant height, thousand seed weight, and biological yield at both locations at genotypic and phenotypic levels. Similarly, days to maturity and grain‐filling period also showed a significant positive phenotypic correlation with grain yield. The analyzed path coefficients at both genotypic and phenotypic levels also indicated how grain yield is influenced directly and indirectly by other yield and yield‐related traits. The result also showed the existence of good heritability values along with high genetic advance, higher phenotypic coefficient of variation and genotypic coefficient of variation for grain yield, biological yield, and grain‐filling period. This implies the true relationship among these traits and grain yield; therefore, due attention should be paid to such traits during selection for further improvement. Hence, the present study indicated the importance of the direct and indirect effects of the studied traits on yield and yield components which makes selection desirable for improving the grain yield of wheat and its genetic resistance against yellow rust in the study area. Core Ideas: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important strategic crops to overcome food security.Wheat yield can be increased through genetic improvement of the crop and its production practices.Genetic variability, path analysis, and association of yield and yield‐related characteristics are desirable.Higher values of the phenotypic coefficient of variance were obtained for all the studied traits.The presence of additive gene action was observed that makes selection a good breeding strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feeding the world's ever‐increasing population requires continuous development of high‐yielding and disease‐resistant cultivars of food crops such as wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Speed breeding, which utilizes longer photoperiod times and higher temperatures, is a technique that accelerates plant development and is rapidly being adopted by wheat breeders across the globe to fast‐track cultivar development. Plant diseases are a major threat to crop production, and breeding for disease resistance is a major goal of crop breeders. Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a major disease of small grain cereals, affecting their yield and quality. The aim of present work was to assess if speed breeding conditions can be used to accelerate reliable assessment of FHB severity and mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation in wheat varieties. We screened a set of six spring wheat genotypes with different levels of genetic resistance (two moderately susceptible, two highly susceptible, one moderately resistant, and one resistant) for their response to FHB at 14 days after inoculation (dai) and 21 dai and DON accumulation under normal versus speed breeding conditions. FHB severity and DON accumulation were found to be highly correlated at all time points under normal and speed breeding conditions. Robust differentiation between resistant and susceptible genotypes could be achieved at 14 dai rather than the normal period of 21 dai, saving at least a week in phenotyping. Combined with the accelerated growth, flowering, and maturity under these conditions, efficient FHB screening and DON evaluation under speed breeding conditions will fast‐track development of resistant wheat varieties. Core Ideas: Speed breeding is increasingly being adopted by crop breeding programs.We evaluated spring wheat genotypes with different levels of genetic resistance for Fusarium head blight (FHB) and deoxynivalenol (DON) levels under speed breeding versus regular conditions.Reliable distinction could be made in FHB severity at 14 days after inoculation (dai) under speed breeding as compared to 21 dai under normal growth conditions.Growing and testing the plants under speed breeding conditions saved a total of 21–23 days as compared to regular conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining or even increasing crop yields while reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions is necessary to reconcile food security and climate change, while the metric of yield‐scaled N2O emission (i.e., N2O emissions per unit of crop yield) is at present poorly understood. Here we conducted a global meta‐analysis with more than 6000 observations to explore the variation patterns and controlling factors of yield‐scaled N2O emissions for maize, wheat and rice and associated potential mitigation options. Our results showed that the average yield‐scaled N2O emissions across all available data followed the order wheat (322 g N Mg−1, with the 95% confidence interval [CI]: 301–346) > maize (211 g N Mg−1, CI: 198–225) > rice (153 g N Mg−1, CI: 144–163). Yield‐scaled N2O emissions for individual crops were generally higher in tropical or subtropical zones than in temperate zones, and also showed a trend towards lower intensities from low to high latitudes. This global variation was better explained by climatic and edaphic factors than by N fertilizer management, while their combined effect predicted more than 70% of the variance. Furthermore, our analysis showed a significant decrease in yield‐scaled N2O emissions with increasing N use efficiency or in N2O emissions for production systems with cereal yields >10 Mg ha−1 (maize), 6.6 Mg ha−1 (wheat) or 6.8 Mg ha−1 (rice), respectively. This highlights that N use efficiency indicators can be used as valuable proxies for reconciling trade‐offs between crop production and N2O mitigation. For all three major staple crops, reducing N fertilization by up to 30%, optimizing the timing and placement of fertilizer application or using enhanced‐efficiency N fertilizers significantly reduced yield‐scaled N2O emissions at similar or even higher cereal yields. Our data‐driven assessment provides some key guidance for developing effective and targeted mitigation and adaptation strategies for the sustainable intensification of cereal production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The present work estimates the area and corresponding wheat crop production in the study area, which comprises the Etah region of Uttar Pradesh, India. For this purpose, multispectral images of multiple sensors, namely Sentinel‐2, Landsat‐8 and Landsat‐9 during the preharvest period, i.e. March for the years 2021 and 2022, were used. A multispectral information fusion approach was proposed, involving image classification as well as vegetation index‐based information extraction. For imposing information fusion, appropriate image bands were identified with the help of separability analysis followed by land cover classification for wheat crop class extraction. Support vector machine (SVM), artificial neural network (ANN) and maximum likelihood (ML) were used for classification, whereas normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and fractional vegetation cover (FVC) were used for index‐based crop area extraction. RESULTS: A maximum accuracy of 98.34% was achieved for Sentinel‐2 data using ANN, whereas a minimum accuracy of 80.21% was achieved for Landsat‐9 using the ML classifier. The estimated area for Sentinel‐2 data for the year 2021 was 260 540 ha using ANN and 203 240 ha using ML, which is close to the reference data, i.e. 238 600 ha. SVM also showed good performance and calculated least error in estimated crop area for the year 2022 on Sentinel‐2 data. It calculated 8 408 490 tons of wheat for the same year. CONCLUSION: The proposed method utilizes a single image per year for extraction of information supported by the ground truth data, which makes it a novel approach to information extraction for crop production monitoring. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effects of the federal crop insurance program on crop production under extreme heat using farm‐level data from Kansas. We find that insured dryland corn is 38% more sensitive to extreme heat than uninsured dryland corn. Results also suggest that a uniform +1° C warming scenario leads to yield reductions of 16.7% (11.8%) for insured (uninsured) corn production; and 6.0% (4.4%) for insured (uninsured) wheat production. Warming had a stronger impact with reduced rainfall, especially on insured farms compared with uninsured farms, while altered growing seasons showed potential benefits for wheat but limited improvements for corn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial inoculants have gained increasing attention worldwide as an eco‐friendly solution for improving agriculture productivity. Several studies have demonstrated their potential benefits, such as enhanced resistance to drought, salinity, and pathogens. However, the beneficial impacts of inoculants remain inconsistent. This variability is attributed to limited knowledge of the mechanisms by which microbial inoculants affect crop growth and a lack of ecological characteristics of these inoculants that limit our ability to predict their beneficial effects. The first important step is believed to be the evaluation of the inoculant's ability to colonize new habitats (soils and plant roots), which could provide crops with beneficial functions and improve the consistency and efficiency of the inoculants. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of three microbial inoculants (two bacterial: P1 and P2, and one fungal: P3) on the growth and stress responses of three wheat varieties in two different soil types under drought conditions. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of microbial inoculants on soil microbial communities. Plant biomass and traits were measured, and high‐throughput sequencing was used to characterize bulk and rhizosphere soil microbiomes after exposure to drought stress. Under drought conditions, plant shoot weight significantly increased (11.37%) under P1 treatments compared to uninoculated controls. In addition, total nitrogen enzyme activity increased significantly under P1 in sandy soil but not in clay soil. Importantly, network analyses revealed that P1, consisting of Bacillus paralicheniformis and Bacillus subtilis, emerged as the keystone taxa in sandy soil. Conversely, P2 and P3 failed to establish as keystone taxa, which may explain their insignificant impact on wheat performance under drought conditions. In conclusion, our study emphasizes the importance of effective colonization by microbial inoculants in promoting crop growth under drought conditions. Our findings support the development of microbial inoculants that robustly colonize plant roots for improved agricultural productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Heat stress greatly threatens crop production. Plants have evolved multiple adaptive mechanisms, including alternative splicing, that allow them to withstand this stress. However, how alternative splicing contributes to heat stress responses in wheat (Triticum aestivum) is unclear.We reveal that the heat shock transcription factor gene TaHSFA6e is alternatively spliced in response to heat stress. TaHSFA6e generates two major functional transcripts: TaHSFA6e‐II and TaHSFA6e‐III. TaHSFA6e‐III enhances the transcriptional activity of three downstream heat shock protein 70 (TaHSP70) genes to a greater extent than does TaHSFA6e‐II. Further investigation reveals that the enhanced transcriptional activity of TaHSFA6e‐III is due to a 14‐amino acid peptide at its C‐terminus, which arises from alternative splicing and is predicted to form an amphipathic helix.Results show that knockout of TaHSFA6e or TaHSP70s increases heat sensitivity in wheat. Moreover, TaHSP70s are localized in stress granule following exposure to heat stress and are involved in regulating stress granule disassembly and translation re‐initiation upon stress relief. Polysome profiling analysis confirms that the translational efficiency of stress granule stored mRNAs is lower at the recovery stage in Tahsp70s mutants than in the wild types.Our finding provides insight into the molecular mechanisms by which alternative splicing improves the thermotolerance in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the long‐term (LT) and short‐term (ST) effects of meteorological factors and technological advancement on major crop production, that is, wheat, and rice, in India from 1990 to 2020. For this purpose, the authors also used other important controlled variables, that is, agriculture employment (AE), agricultural credit (AC), and cultivated land (AUR/AUW). For the estimation of data series, the study employed robust econometric techniques, such as the ARDL, FMOLS, and CCR framework. Empirical results reveal the long‐term relationship among meteorological factors, agricultural technologies, and major crop production (wheat and rice). In the case of meteorological factors, rainfall (RF) and carbon emission (CO2) have a positive and negative impact on wheat and rice production, while the mean temperature is negatively related to rice production and positively related to wheat production. Whereas agricultural technologies, such as fertilizer usage and farm machinery, improve wheat and rice crop production. The long‐term (LT) estimated findings are confirmed by econometric techniques such as FMOLS and CCR. The government should adopt necessary measures to achieve sustainable production and develop resilient hybrid seeds of rice and wheat that are well‐suited to agro‐climatic conditions in order to mitigate environmental degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a major migratory invasive pest that poses a severe threat to agricultural production and food security in China. In this study, we estimated the effects of six cereal crops on the development, survival, and fecundity of FAW using the age‐stage, two‐sex life table: maize (Zea mays L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], oats (Avena sativa L.), millet (species, authority) (all Poaceae), and quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) (Amaranthaceae). In a six‐choice test using detached leaf material, FAW larvae preferentially occurred on maize, followed by sorghum, within 6–24 h, and occurred the least on millet and quinoa. After 24 h, they had consumed the most leaf material from sorghum and maize, and the least from quinoa. In no‐choice tests using detached leaf material, they performed best on maize in terms of development (e.g., short development time), survival (e.g., high larval survival and pupation rate), and fecundity (e.g., high number of oviposition days and number of eggs laid per female), resulting in the highest predicted population growth (e.g., high intrinsic rate of increase and net reproductive rate). Although maize was found to be the most appropriate host plant, FAW was able to complete its life cycle on all six tested cereals. Our findings can help in predicting population dynamics and deepening our understanding of the potential damage incurred by FAW infestation, especially in regions under maize cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous declines in atmospheric sulfur (S) deposition along with increased S removal rates with crop harvest has the potential to lead to S deficiency in Ohio field crops. As a result, S fertilization has become more common over the past decade. However, the extent of S deficiency is unknown, as inherent soil properties and management practices influence S availability and uptake. We conducted 96 replicated trials, from 2013 to 2021 to (1) examine the response of corn (Zea mays L.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr], and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to S application on a wide range of Ohio soils and differing management practices and (2) determine the ability of Mehlich‐3 extractable S in soil, leaf S, and grain S concentrations to predict grain yield response to S fertilizer. Our results showed limited grain yield increases to S fertilization with an overall response rate of 7.3% (4 of 50 corn trials, 3 of 34 soybean trials, and 0 of 12 wheat trials). Sulfur fertilization increased leaf and grain S concentrations by 19.4% and 12% in corn, by 22.2% and 7.7% in soybean, and by 41.7% and 0% in wheat, respectively. These increases in leaf or grain S concentrations were not directly related to yield responses. Diagnostic tools of Mehlich‐3 soil S, leaf S, and grain S concentrations failed to predict yield response to S. We conclude that S deficiency is not widespread in Ohio soils and that optimizing grain crop production does not currently require S fertilization. Core Ideas: Sulfur (S) response trials were conducted in 27 counties in Ohio from 2013 to 2021.S fertilization increased grain yield in only seven out of 96 trials.S fertilization was likely to increase leaf and grain S concentrations.Tissue S and grain S concentrations failed to predict grain yield responses.Environments where S response occurred were not consistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity is increasingly considered as a major environmental issue, which threatens agricultural production by decreasing yield traits of crops. Seed priming is a useful and cost‐effective technique to alleviate the negative effects of salinity and to enable a fast and uniform germination. In this context, we quantified the effects of priming with gibberellic acid (GP), calcium chloride (CP), and mannitol (MP) on seed germination of three bread wheat cultivars and investigated their response when grown at high salinity conditions (200 mM NaCl). Salt exposure strongly repressed seed imbibition and germination potential and extended germination time, whereas priming enhanced uniformity and seed vigor. Seed preconditioning alleviated the germination disruption caused by salt stress to varying degrees. Priming mitigating effect was agent‐dependent with regard to water status (CP and MP), ionic imbalance (CP), and seed reserve mobilization (GP). Na+ accumulation in seedling tissues significantly impaired carbohydrate and protein mobilization by inhibiting amylase and proteases activities but had lesser effects on primed seeds. CP attenuated ionic imbalance by limiting sodium accumulation. Gibberellic acid was the most effective priming treatment for promoting the germination of wheat seeds under salt stress. Moreover, genotypic differences in wheat response to salinity stress were observed between varieties used in this study. Ardito, the oldest variety, seems to tolerate better salinity in priming‐free conditions; Aubusson resulted the most salt‐sensitive cultivar but showed a high germination recovery under priming conditions; Bologna showed an intermediate behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress is one of the most serious environmental stress factor constraining crop production across the globe. Among cereals, wheat grains are very sensitive to drought as a small degree of stress can affect the enzymatic system. This study aimed to investigate whether nitrogen and pre‐anthesis drought priming could enhance the action of major regulatory enzymes involved in starch accumulation and protein synthesis in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). For this purpose, cultivars YM‐158 (medium gluten) and YM‐22 (low gluten) were grown in rain‐controlled conditions under two nitrogen levels, that is, N180 (N1) and N300 (N2). Drought priming was applied at the jointing stage and drought stress was applied 7 days after anthesis. Drought stress reduced starch content but enhanced protein content in grains. N2 and primed plants kept higher contents of nonstructural carbohydrates, fructans, and sucrose; with higher activity of sucrose‐phosphate synthase in flag leaves. Furthermore, N2 and priming treatments showed higher sink ability to develop grains by showing higher sucrose‐to‐starch conversion activities of adenosine diphosphate‐glucose pyrophosphorylase, uridine diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase, sucrose‐synthase, soluble‐starch synthase, starch branching enzyme, and granule‐bound starch synthase as compared to N1 and non‐primed treatments. The application of N2 and primed treatment showed a greater ability to maintain grain filling in both cultivars as compared to N1 and non‐primed crops. Our study suggested that high nitrogen has the potential to enhance the effect of pre‐drought priming to change source‐sink relationships and grain yield of wheat under drought stress during the filling process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil bacteria play pivotal roles in agroecosystem functioning. However, the immense diversity of soil bacterial communities masks the effects of some species, such as bacterial biomarkers, on soil nutrient cycling and crop growth. We analyzed biological and chemical soil parameters of five fertilization treatments (CK, LN, CN, HN, LNM: 0, 150, 200, 250 kg N hm−2, 150 kg N hm−2 + 15,000 kg hm−2 sheep manure). The random forest models were used to select bacterial biomarkers and assess the contributions of bacterial biomarkers and overall bacteria to wheat yield. Moreover, we used a partial least squares path modelling to explore the relationship between fertilization, bacterial biomarkers, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling functions, soil nutrients, and wheat yield. The results showed that bacterial biomarkers are better predictors of wheat yield than overall bacteria, explaining 52.54% and 16.00% of the variation in yield, respectively. Bacterial biomarkers affected wheat production by increasing soil organic carbon, and available nitrogen content. The LNM treatment significantly improved the relative abundance of beneficial biomarkers, such as Sphingomonadales, Xanthomonadaceae, Lysobacter, and Streptomyces, compared to the LN treatment. In addition, the LNM treatment promoted chitinlysis, cellulolysis, xylanolysis, aromatic hydrocarbon degradation, and aerobic ammonia oxidation, relative to the other inorganic N treatments (LN, CN, and HN). Our results emphasize the role of bacterial biomarkers in wheat yield formation, providing new insights into maintaining agricultural productivity by taking advantage of soil bacterial biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production in Texas depends heavily on conventional tillage (CT) and a long summer fallow period, which contributes to soil degradation. This study compared the impact of reducing tillage intensity (CT, no‐tillage, and strip‐tillage) combined with summer cropping to CT–summer fallow on wheat establishment, grain production, and herbage mass from 2016 to 2020 in three Texas ecoregions (Coastal Plains, Southern High Plains, and Blackland Prairie). Tillage and summer cropping resulted in variable impacts on wheat stand establishment, grain yield, and herbage mass across years and locations. At Beeville, in the Coastal Plains, wheat grain and herbage mass yields were not impacted by tillage. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) cropping resulted in less wheat grain yield in 2020. In 1 yr at Lubbock in the Southern High Plains, wheat grain yield was greater with CT than reduced tillage. Sorghum summer cropping resulted in lower wheat grain yield than cover crop mixture or cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.) in 2017, but yield was greater in 2020. At Thrall, in the Blackland Prairie, wheat stand establishment and yield with reduced tillage were greater than CT in 2016, whereas CT was greater in 2017 and 2020. Sorghum or cover cropping resulted in reduced wheat grain yield compared with fallow in 2018, but sorghum and sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) resulted in increased yield compared with fallow in 2019 and 2020. Summer cropping in wheat production systems rarely had a negative impact on wheat production compared with summer fallow in all three ecoregions. Core Ideas: Tillage and summer cropping had variable effects on yield and herbage mass across semi‐arid environments.Conservation tillage practices, no‐tillage, or strip‐tillage are feasible practices for wheat production systems.Wheat–summer crop rotations are potentially feasible systems in the Coastal Plains and Blackland Prairie regions.Wheat–summer crop rotations are not feasible in the Southern High Plains due to limited precipitation and timing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

BACKGROUND The agricultural production system is facing increasing demand pressure and environmental pressure. Green and efficient production methods are urgently needed in order to further enhance the yield of winter wheat and reduce the negative impact on the environment. Here, we analyzed the potential yield and yield gap of winter wheat in Shandong Province of China from 1981 to 2009. Meanwhile, we specified the effects of sowing time, irrigation and fertilization scheme, and variety characteristics on winter wheat. RESULTS: In the past 29 years, the yield gap in most areas of Shandong has become smaller, because the actual yield has increased and the potential yield has changed little under the background of climate change. In addition, it is found that delaying sowing date is beneficial to increase yield by helping winter wheat avoid adverse climate conditions. Also, an irrigation amount of 240 mm and nitrogen application amount of 180–210 kg ha−1 are best to maintain high yield, high resource utilization rate and low environmental pollution in this area. These suggested levels are lower than those currently used by many local farmers. Wheat varieties with longer grain‐filling period and photoperiod response, higher grain‐filling rate and grain weight were more adaptable to climate change. CONCLUSION: Improving agronomic management measures can significantly increase the yield of winter wheat and narrow the yield gap. This study can provide valuable information for improving the production potential of winter wheat, and for reducing the damage of agricultural activities to the environment. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In the recent years, the agricultural world has been progressing towards integrated crop protection, in the context of sustainable and reasoned agriculture to improve food security and quality, and to preserve the environment through reduced uses of water, pesticides, fungicides or fertilisers. For this purpose, one possible issue is to cross‐elite varieties widely used in fields for crop productions with exotic or wild genetic resources in order to introduce new diversity for genes or alleles of agronomical interest to accelerate the development of new improved cultivars. However, crossing ability (or crossability) often depends on genetic background of the recipient varieties or of the donor, which hampers a larger use of wild resources in breeding programmes of many crops. In this review, we tried to provide a comprehensive summary of genetic factors controlling crossing ability between Triticeae species with a special focus on the crossability between wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and rye (Secale cereale), which lead to the creation of Triticale (x Triticosecale Wittm.). We also discussed potential applications of newly identified genes or markers associated with crossability for accelerating wheat and Triticale improvement by application of modern genomics technologies in breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agronomy Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

BACKGROUND A decrease in rainfall is one of the main constraints on wheat production, although the association of wheat with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may be an alternative for crop production under drought conditions. In the present study, we used three wheat cultivars (Purple, Ilustre and Maxi Baer) inoculated with two AMF strains, one obtained from the hyperarid Atacama Desert (northern Chile; Fm) and the other obtained from southern Chile (Cc). Plants were maintained under two irrigation conditions (normal irrigation and drought) and the physiological behaviour and enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant activities in the shoots were determined. In addition, the phenolic compounds were identified by high‐performance liquid chromatography‐dioide array detection‐electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry and quantified. RESULTS: AMF colonization produced higher levels of efficiency of photosystem II and photosynthetic pigments. High values of catalase in Purple‐Cc, ascorbate peroxidase in Purple‐Cc, glutathione reductase in Maxi‐Cc and superoxide dismutase in Purple‐Cc, all under stress, were registered. Of the inoculated cultivars, Purple‐Cc showed the highest flavonoid levels, whereas hydroxycinnamic acids were higher in Maxi‐Fm without drought, with apigenin and luteolin being the most abundant. High levels of phenols were present in the Ilustre‐Fm plants without drought. Under normal irrigation, high levels of antioxidant activity were registered in the AMF treatments, whereas, under stress conditions, in general, high values were observed under the Fm inoculation. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that the greatest antioxidant activity and phenolic content occurred in wheat plants inoculated with AMF, indicating their influence on coping with water stress, which is of importance in vast areas where global climate change is resulting in diminished rainfall. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimates suggest that a swarm of desert locusts can consume food grains sufficient to feed up to 35,000 people. Despite the potential disaster that these migratory pests can bring about, there is no credible economic estimate of the actual damage caused by locust upsurges to agricultural production. This article takes advantage of plausibly exogenous variation generated by the timing of locust upsurges and geographic variation due to their migration patterns to estimate the impact of an upsurge on crop yields using a large district level panel dataset from India covering more than 200 districts over 45 years. I find that locust upsurges have no impact on rice yields but can lead to a decline of up to 0.2 tons of wheat production per hectare. Given that locusts attack India from the western side and majority of the rice is produced in the east and south, such findings are not surprising. There are two ways to interpret the estimated effect size in terms of how hard the locust upsurges can sting the economy. First, in terms of the economic costs, the magnitude of the effects are around 12% compared to mean per‐hectare production of wheat. Second, in terms of accounting costs, back of the envelope calculations suggest losses up to US$3 billion. Policy implications include recognizing locust upsurges as natural disasters and providing demand‐based market instruments such as locust insurance to help farmers hedge against this risk. Related Content: Monopsonists, Disruptive Innovation and Food Security: The Case of High-Value Commodity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No‐till is one of the common conservation practices implemented in the Fort Cobb Reservoir Watershed (FCREW) located in central Oklahoma to improve soil and water resources while ensuring sustainable crop production. In this study, we used the recently developed Multi‐Objective Evolutionary Algorithm for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model (SWAT‐MEA) to determine the optimal spatial placement of crop management systems when converting from conventional tillage to no‐till in the FCREW. A previously calibrated and validated Soil Water and Assessment Tool (SWAT) model for the FCREW for conventionally tilled land under winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), and peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) cropping system was used. The objective functions for this study were maximizing crop yield ranks while minimizing sediment, total P (TP), and total N (TN) yield loads. Four modifications made in the SWAT‐MEA in order to achieve the defined goal of this study include an automated process of conversion from conventional to no‐till, ability to use crop yield ranks in the optimization process and to sum up species of N and P to TN and TP, and creation of a public domain standalone executable. Results indicated that converting from a conventionally tilled to no‐till system under optimal placement of crop management systems reduced TN, TP, and sediment yield losses by 45, 32, and 65%, respectively, while crop yields were not significantly affected. Overall, this case study shows that the SWAT‐MEA was able to successfully identify the optimal placement of crop management systems under no‐till condition and can be used for decision making. Core Ideas: The SWAT‐Multi‐Objective Evolutionary Algorithm was evaluated for optimal crop placement decisions.Four modifications were made in SWAT‐MEA in order to accomplish study objective.Modified SWAT‐MEA successfully identified optimal placement of five crop management systems.No‐till improved water quality while maintaining yields for optimally placed crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE) in crop plants is important to reduce the negative impact of excessive N on the environment. Although biochar‐blended fertilizer had been increasingly tested in crop production, the fate of fertilized N in soil and plant had not been elucidated in field conditions. In this study, a novel biochar‐blended urea (BU) was prepared by pelleting maize straw biochar, bentonite, sepiolite, carboxymethylcellulose sodium, and chitosan with urea (commercial urea without biochar [CU]). N fertilization in a winter wheat field was treated with BU and CU at both 265 kg N ha−1 (HL) and 186 kg N ha−1 (LN). Within a treatment plot, a microplot was fertilized with 15N‐labeled urea at a relevant N level. We investigated the influence of fertilizer management on biomass, grain yield, bioaccumulation of nutrient, soil properties, 15N isotopic abundance, and greenhouse gas emissions. Microscopic and spectroscopic analysis showed that micro/nanonetwork of biochar could bind N to form a loss control agglomerated particle, and organo‐mineral coatings on BU may protect N from quick release. Compared with CU, BU significantly increased grain yield by 13% and 38%, and grain N allocation by 19% and 55%, respectively, at HN and LN level. The total recovery of urea 15N in wheat plant (15N based NUE) was 32.8% under CU regardless of N rates but increased to 41.7% (HN rate) and 56.3% (LN rate) under BU. Whereas, the soil proportion (soil residual 15N) was 20.1% and 13.4% under CU but 32.5% and 18.8% under BU, in 0‐20cm topsoil, respectively, at HN and LN rate. Compared with the CU, BU had no effect on CO2 and CH4 emissions but significantly reduced the total N2O emission by 23%–28%. These important findings suggested that BU can be beneficial to uplift plant NUE to reduce reactive N loading but boost crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly alkaline soils are widespread throughout south‐eastern Australia. High pH limits the accumulation and retention of organic carbon (C), and thus the availability of nutrients to crops and is also associated with various elemental deficiencies and toxicities that restrict crop productivity. Applying gypsum and increasing legume production reduce pH and improve soil chemical and physical properties in alkaline, sodic soils, but this strategy has not been explored in alkaline soils in the region where many of the topsoils are non‐sodic. Five short‐term rotation experiments were conducted to examine the potential to reduce pH, improve soil organic C and increase crop production. In the first year, three legumes—field peas (Pisum sativum), vetch (Vicia sativa) and a medic pasture (Medicago spp.)—were grown at low or high inputs of seed and fertilizer and with three rates of gypsum (0, 2.5 t/ha and 5.0 t/ha). In the following seasons, wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) were grown. Using high sowing and fertilizer rates to increase legume biomass had little effect on soil properties; however, applying gypsum consistently resulted in a lower soil pH and dissolved organic C and higher organic C compared with the unamended control to a depth of 0.20–0.30 m. The largest difference occurred with 2.5 t gypsum/ha with little further change at 5 t/ha. Gypsum significantly increased biomass and grain yield at sites with low concentrations of calcium carbonate. Low rates of gypsum may be effective in reducing pH, maintaining soil organic C and improving crop production in regions with alkaline soils low in calcium carbonate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat, durum wheat, is the first cereal cultivated and consumed in Tunisia. Because the dominance of calcareous soils in its agroecological systems, known by their low availability of iron (Fe) inducing Fe chlorosis and limiting crop production, its yield remains low. Therefore, the search for tolerant genotypes is always current. In this context, the physiological behavior of six Tunisian genotypes of durum wheat (salim, karim, razek, khiar, inrat100, and maali) cultivated on calcareous and fertile soils for 2 months in a pot experiment was investigated. A greenhouse was used to conduct experiments under natural light. Plant growth, SPAD index, Fe nutrition, Fe distribution, and photosynthesis were monitored and used to evaluate and discriminate their respective physiological responses. On calcareous soil, results revealed reduced plant growth, active Fe, SPAD index, and net photosynthesis. Genotypic differences in the response of wheat to calcareous‐induced Fe deficiency were observed and allowed to classify the genotypes Salim and Karim as relatively tolerant. These genotypes expressed Fe translocation capacity (FeT) up to 3 times, Fe use efficiency for photosynthesis (FeUEAn) up to 1.6 times, and chlorophyll use efficiency for photosynthesis (ChlUEAn) up to 3.5 times greater than that expressed by the other genotypes, particularly inrat100 and maali. Thus, the relative tolerance of Salim and Karim is the result of the high ability of Fe uptake and translocation to shoots to support chlorophyll biosynthesis, photosynthesis, and plant growth as well as an important Fe and chlorophyll use efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop production sequences influence arthropod populations in temporally unstable row crop systems. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) represents one of the earliest abundant crops in south‐eastern United States. This study aims to understand primary source habitats driving brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), and tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), population abundance in wheat.To better understand these relationships, adult and nymphal densities were in wheat fields weekly from flowering through harvest in 2019 and 2020. Geospatial data were used to measure landscape composition surrounding sampled fields. We investigated the influence of landscape predictors on E. servus and L. lineolaris abundance using generalized linear mixed modelling.Field size, proportion of agriculture, proportion of wheat area, and proportion of soybean Glycine max L.) area from the previous year in the surrounding landscape were associated with E. servus abundance in wheat. Similarly, L. lineolaris abundance was associated with proportion of wheat area and soybean area from the previous year.These results reveal the influence of soybean area planted the previous year on insect pest densities the following spring in wheat. Further, results suggest agricultural landscapes dominated by wheat are associated with decreased pest abundance across the sampled region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of global warming on crop production have received great attention in recent years. However, inconsistent results have been obtained with regard to major crops such as rice and wheat in rice–wheat rotation systems of China. Therefore, we undertook a comprehensive meta‐analysis of literature data. The yield response to warming differed for rice and wheat in the rice–wheat rotation system. Overall, warming significantly increased wheat yield (by 4.8%) but significantly reduced rice yield (by 14.8%). A number of factors were responsible for these observations. For example, rice yield responses varied with the temperature increase, variety and nitrogen (N) rate. Of these, N was the most important variable influencing yield responses to warming. The yield loss for rice was lower at temperature increases of 0.40–1.40°C and at a high N rate than that at temperature increases of 1.60–2.49°C and at a low N rate, respectively. The yield loss of indica rice was lower than that of japonica rice. For wheat, however, yield responses to warming varied with the warming regime, ambient temperature, temperature increases, and CO2 concentrations. Of these factors, ambient temperature was the most important variable influencing yield in response to warming. Warming increased wheat yield at a mean growth season temperature ≤10°C, temperature increases of 0.80–1.50°C, and at ambient CO2 concentrations. In addition, either daytime warming or nighttime warming significantly increased wheat yield. However, all‐day warming had no effect on wheat yields. We conclude that global warming will benefit wheat production but result in a serious loss of rice yield in rice–wheat rotations in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agronomic cropping systems in many regions face growing economic and management challenges as well as new regulations designed to address negative environmental and social externalities. At the same time, public support for agricultural education and extension is decreasing. Hence, new approaches are necessary to understand the most pressing on‐farm issues and help prioritize critical needs. With a diversity of agronomic crops and new regulations for water and nitrogen, California is an important case study for other regions. The objective of this study was to identify major grower and industry concerns, management challenges, and motivations in making management decisions. In 2020, 483 growers, consultants, and allied industry of agronomic crop production responded to an online survey. The crops most widely grown by respondents included rice (Oryza sativa L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and corn (Zea mays L.). Four out of the five top concerns were related to water. Weed control and irrigation/water management were primary management challenges, though differences occurred by crop and region. The highest priorities considered in grower management decision‐making were water, profitability, and land stewardship. Crop rotation benefits were a primary reason for growing agronomic crops, with profitability and tradition ranking closely behind. This study highlights opportunities to guide research and extension efforts based on critical needs identified by growers and industry, while also informing larger policy and institutional decisions regarding new programs and funding to address key issues in agronomic crop production. Core Ideas: Water‐related issues are of greatest concern while weed control is top challenge for agronomic crops in California.Availability of water, profitability, and land stewardship were the highest priorities in management decisions.Crop rotation benefits and profitability were the primary reasons for growing agronomic crops.Extension must balance immediate needs with long‐term education to adapt to future challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing plastic production and consumption, large amounts of polystyrene nanoplastics are accumulated in soil due to improper disposal causing pollution and deleterious effects to environment. However, little information is available about how to alleviate the adverse impacts of nanoplastics on crops. In this study, the involvement of melatonin in modulating nanoplastic uptake, translocation, and toxicity in wheat plant was investigated. The results demonstrated that exogenous melatonin application reduced the nanoplastic uptake by roots and their translocation to shoots via regulating the expression of genes associated with aquaporin, including the upregulation of the TIP2‐9, PIP2, PIP3, and PIP1.2 in leaves and TIP2‐9, PIP1‐5, PIP2, and PIP1.2 in roots. Melatonin activated the ROS scavenging system to maintain a better redox homeostasis and ameliorated the negative effects of nanoplastics on carbohydrate metabolism, hence ameliorated the plant growth and enhanced the tolerance to nanoplastics toxicity. This process was closely related to the exogenous melatonin application induced melatonin accumulation in leave. These results suggest that melatonin could alleviate the adverse effects of nanoplastics on wheat, and exogenous melatonin application might be used as a promising management strategy to sustain crop production in the nanoplastic‐polluted soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Climate and agricultural practice interact to influence both crop production and soil microbes in agroecosystems. Here, we carried out a unique experiment in Central Germany to simultaneously investigate the effects of climates (ambient climate vs. future climate expected in 50–70 years), agricultural practices (conventional vs. organic farming), and their interaction on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inside wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) roots. AMF communities were characterized using Illumina sequencing of 18S rRNA gene amplicons. We showed that climatic conditions and agricultural practices significantly altered total AMF community composition. Conventional farming significantly affected the AMF community and caused a decline in AMF richness. Factors shaping AMF community composition and richness at family level differed greatly among Glomeraceae, Gigasporaceae and Diversisporaceae. An interactive impact of climate and agricultural practices was detected in the community composition of Diversisporaceae. Organic farming mitigated the negative effect of future climate and promoted total AMF and Gigasporaceae richness. AMF richness was significantly linked with nutrient content of wheat grains under both agricultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain is determined by several factors that lead to different physical, chemical, and/or rheological characteristics. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of the type of cultivar quality and agricultural region of production on parameters that define the commercial and industrial quality of wheat. A total of 3,486 wheat samples were collected from producer lots. The samples corresponded to commercial cultivars classified according to the quality type following a system used in Argentina which is based on the combination of commercial and baking quality indicators. These wheat varieties were produced in three different regions according to resource availability (fertility of the soil and average rainfall). The technological quality of the different grain samples and flours was determined by means of physicochemical analyses. The samples from the region of high resource availability with higher productivity and lower industrial quality differed from those from the regions of low and medium resource availability. Grain test weight and ash content were significantly affected by the interaction between the quality group of the cultivars and the region of origin. Grain protein and gluten contents were mainly conditioned by the resource availability of the region. However, the quality of the gluten was genetically conditioned by quality group of the cultivars. As results of the relationships among these parameters, most of the variables of flour quality (color, deformation energy, tenacity/extensibility ratio, and farinograph stability) would be explained by the interaction between the cultivar and the environment where it was grown. Core Ideas: Grain test weight and ash were affected by the cultivar × environment interaction.Grain protein and gluten contents were conditioned by the resource availability of the region.Gluten quality was genetically conditioned by quality group of the cultivars.Deformation energy, P/L, and farinograph stability responded to the cultivar × environment interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultivating new crop cultivars with multiple abiotic stress tolerances is important for crop production. The abscisic acid‐stress‐ripening (ASR) protein has been shown to confer abiotic stress tolerance in plants. However, the mechanisms of ASR function under stress condition remain largely unclear. In this study, we characterized all ASR family members in common wheat and constitutively overexpressed TaASR1‐D in a commercial hexaploid wheat cultivar Zhengmai 9023. The transgenic wheat plants exhibited increased tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses and increased grain yields under salt stress condition. Overexpression of TaASR1‐D conferred enhanced antioxidant capacity and ABA sensitivity in transgenic wheat plants. Further, RNA in situ hybridization results showed that TaASR1‐D had higher expression levels in the vascular tissues of leaves and the parenchyma cells around the vascular tissues of roots and stems. Yeast one‐hybrid and electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that TaASR1‐D could directly bind the specific cis‐elements in the promoters of TaNCED1 and TaGPx1‐D. In conclusion, our findings suggest that TaASR1‐D can be used to breed new wheat cultivars with increased multiple abiotic stress tolerances, and TaASR1‐D enhances abiotic stress tolerances by reinforcing antioxidant capacity and ABA signalling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]