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Optimal foraging theory predicts that well‐defended potential foods should be exploited only when energy pay‐offs are great. Although stinging hymenopteran nests are both well‐defended and predated by primates, their larvae's energy yields rarely have been calculated, and predation‐linked foraging behaviours by primates infrequently documented. Based on 58 opportunistic observations of primates raiding wasp nests for larvae, we calculated energetic yields of low‐ and high‐risk wasp nest predation for Cebus albifrons, Saimiri collinsi, S. sciureus and Sapajus apella, and tested predictions derived from optimal foraging theory. We recorded how nests were processed and by which age‐sex classes, eaten nest fragment sizes, number of occupied and empty cells, and nest occupancy patterns (percent larvae/pupae, eggs, empty cells). Basal metabolic rate (BMR) calculations showed energetic yields from 15 min foraging on low‐risk nests (Polybia quadricincta) would meet energy needed to sustain adult female and male C. albifrons BMR for 4.9 and 4.5 h, respectively; yields from high‐risk (Chartergus artifex) nests for 6.5 and 6.2 h; Mischocyttarus sp. nest yields (low risk, but mimetically resembling other wasps) would meet S. collinsi BMR for 2.9 h (female) and 2.3 h (male), and 2.6 and 2.1 h, for the slightly larger S. sciureus, respectively. The Chartergus energetic‐yield value is nearly 20% of a 36 g chocolate bar (741 kJ). Our data provide quantitative support for the common assertion that wasp larvae and pupae are high‐yield foods for primates. As predicted by optimal foraging, energetic yield is sufficient to offset the risk and pain of being stung. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Bioconversion of paper mill bamboo and lime waste is a novel effort. [•] Solubility of heavy metals in paper mill wastes reduced due to vermiconversion. [•] Vermicomposted paper mill wastes improve soil health. [•] Vermicomposted paper mill wastes enhances crop yield. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present paper aims to give an overview of results collected in the Estonian Crop Research Institute related to the comparison between guttation and yield in grain crop cereals. The objects of research were oat variety 'Eugen' and wheat 'Manu', which went through the stages of germinating their seeds (in vitro), set them by sprouts down into the soil, and the emergence of sprouts under conditions of a hydrothermostat. Since transpiration in a hydrothermostat at an air temperature of 23 °C, and an extremely high value of air relative humidity was limited, therefore, due to this, the plant sprouts have begun to exude guttation fluid. As result, we have found that the amount of isolated gutted fluid correlates significantly with the grain yields of field trials indicators. The comparison between relative guttation and relative yield was described by a straightforward relationship. The entire experiment took about one week, and the first results of droplet prints on filter paper can be obtained after 60 hours. This was the novelty of our approach which provides the prerequisites for both increasing the reliability of conclusions regarding the yield obtained and its forecast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Bioconversion of tea factory and paper mill coal ash is a novel effort. [•] Solubility of Cr and Ni in coal ashes is reduced due to vermiconversion. [•] Vermicomposted coal ashes improve soil health. [•] Vermicomposted tea factory coal ash enhances crop yield. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We utilize a coupled economy–agroecology–hydrology modeling framework to capture the cascading impacts of climate change mitigation policy on agriculture and the resulting water quality cobenefits. We analyze a policy that assigns a range of United States government’s social cost of carbon estimates ($51, $76, and $152/ton of CO2-equivalents) to fossil fuel–based CO2 emissions. This policy raises energy costs and, importantly for agriculture, boosts the price of nitrogen fertilizer production. At the highest carbon price, US carbon emissions are reduced by about 50%, and nitrogen fertilizer prices rise by about 90%, leading to an approximate 15% reduction in fertilizer applications for corn production across the Mississippi River Basin. Corn and soybean production declines by about 7%, increasing crop prices by 6%, while nitrate leaching declines by about 10%. Simulated nitrate export to the Gulf of Mexico decreases by 8%, ultimately shrinking the average midsummer area of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic area by 3% and hypoxic volume by 4%. We also consider the additional benefits of restored wetlands to mitigate nitrogen loading to reduce hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and find a targeted wetland restoration scenario approximately doubles the effect of a low to moderate social cost of carbon. Wetland restoration alone exhibited spillover effects that increased nitrate leaching in other parts of the basin which were mitigated with the inclusion of the carbon policy. We conclude that a national climate policy aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States would have important water quality cobenefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment with rain-fed winter wheat investigated the nutritional aspects of paper-mill sludge as a mulch and incorporated into the topsoil. Treatments with chemical fertilizers were also used as controls. Paper-mill sludge used as mulch with high rate (100MG ha-1) and also the combined N and K mineral fertilizer treatments increased yield when a low potassium otherwise caused potassium deficiency in wheat with high specific surface soil. High soil Ca: K molar ratio by incorporation lowered potassium uptake and yield, with visual symptoms of potassium deficiency. A very high Gapon selectivity coefficient (KG) for K exchange against Ca + Mg (16.58 (L/mole)0.5) produced a nonlinear normalized exchange isotherm in favor of potassium with these soils containing high illite. Ca and K which are released by sludge decomposition are diverged in soil whenmobilized by rain infiltration, lowering Ca : K molar ratio. Low soil Ca : K molar ratio may be expected by surface sludge application relative to incorporation, due to greater rain infiltration through upper soil layers and their effluent pore volumes per unit depth. Ca from triple superphosphate by the P, N, and K mineral fertilizers combined also reduced potassium uptake and yield relative to N and K combined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this 5-yr study, application frequency of fresh (FDS) and composted (CDS) paper sludges was evaluated on soil properties and silage corn (Zea mays L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) yields and N uptake by comparing one application (2000) with repeated applications (2000, 2001, 2002). Treatments consisted of a control with neither amendment nor N fertilizer, a recommended N rate for corn (160 kg N ha-1) and barley (90 kg N ha-1), and FDS and CDS at a rate of 40Mg ha-1 on wet basis with or without reduced N fertilizer (120 kg N ha-1) on corn. Compared to the control, the FDS or CDS applications significantly increased the proportions of soil larger macroaggregates (>2mm) and the mean-weight diameter (MWD) of aggregates, regardless their application frequency. Single or three yrs additions of FDS or CDS produced, on average, an increase of 25 to 31% of the soil C and N contents compared to the control and the recommended N fertilizer treatment (160 kg N ha-1). In the first year of their application, the FDS or CDS with or without supplemental N fertilizer (120 kg N ha-1) reduced silage corn and N uptake, compared to the control probably due to N immobilization. However, silage corn yields were increased in the following years with one application or with repeated application of FDS or CDS. Results show that benefits on soil properties and crop yields of single application of FDS and CDS were similar to those of the triple applications and were still noticeable a few years following the last application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern and precision agriculture is constantly evolving, and the use of technology has become a critical factor in improving crop yields and protecting plants from harmful insects and pests. The use of neural networks is emerging as a new trend in modern agriculture that enables machines to learn and recognize patterns in data. In recent years, researchers and industry experts have been exploring the use of neural networks for detecting harmful insects and pests in crops, allowing farmers to act and mitigate damage. This paper provides an overview of new trends in modern agriculture for harmful insect and pest detection using neural networks. Using a systematic review, the benefits and challenges of this technology are highlighted, as well as various techniques being taken by researchers to improve its effectiveness. Specifically, the review focuses on the use of an ensemble of neural networks, pest databases, modern software, and innovative modified architectures for pest detection. The review is based on the analysis of multiple research papers published between 2015 and 2022, with the analysis of the new trends conducted between 2020 and 2022. The study concludes by emphasizing the significance of ongoing research and development of neural network-based pest detection systems to maintain sustainable and efficient agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bird invasion will reduce the yield of high-value crops, which threatens the healthy development of agricultural economy. Sonic bird repellent has the advantages of large range, no time and geographical restrictions, and low cost, which has attracted people's attention in the field of agriculture. At present, there are few studies on the application of sonic bird repellents in pear orchards to minimize economic losses and prolong the adaptive capacity of birds. In this paper, a sound wave bird repellent system based on computer vision is designed, which combines deep learning target recognition technology to accurately identify birds and drive them away. The neural network model that can recognize birds is first trained and deployed to the server. Live video is captured by an installed webcam, and the sonic bird repellent is powered by an ESP-8266 relay switch. In a pear orchard, two experimental areas were divided into two experimental areas to test the designed sonic bird repellent device, and the number of bad fruits pecked by birds was used as an indicator to evaluate the bird repelling effect. The results showed that the pear pecked fruit rate was 6.03% in the pear orchard area that used the acoustic bird repeller based on computer recognition, 7.29% in the pear orchard area of the control group that used the acoustic bird repeller with continuous operation, and 13.07% in the pear orchard area that did not use any bird repellent device. While acoustic bird repellers based on computer vision can be more effective at repelling birds, they can be used in combination with methods such as fruit bags to reduce the economic damage caused by birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undernutrition is a confront to the health and output of the populace. It is viewed as one of the five leading contrary health impacts of climate variability and is defined as different measures of nutritional status. We aimed to assess the scientific evidence base for the impact of climate variability on childhood undernutrition (particularly wasting and underweight) in low- and middle-income countries. A systematic review was conducted to identify the peer-reviewed and gray full-text studies in English with no limits for the year of publication and study design. This review covers only published studies from four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct). The risk of bias was assessed using the ROVBIS tool in individual studies. The PRISMA Statement checklist for systematic reviews was referred for this review process. A significant correlation between climate variables, temperature, rainfall, and drought, and at least one undernutrition parameter in 19 out of 22 studies was observed in this systematic review. In addition, we note that crop yield, maternal education, nutritional status of mothers, wealth status at the household level, and individual levels also play substantial roles in mediating the nutritional impacts. The findings of our analysis imply that exposure to climate variables may be linked to an increased risk of undernutrition both during and for several years following climate events. This may imply that undernutrition is never caused by temperature, precipitation, drought, or other weather-related factors alone but rather that undernutrition is triggered in children who are already at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A timely and consistent assessment of crop yield will assist the farmers in improving their income, minimizing losses, and deriving strategic plans in agricultural commodities to adopt import-export policies. Crop yield predictions are one of the various challenges faced in the agriculture sector and play a significant role in planning and decision-making. Machine learning algorithms provided enough belief and proved their ability to predict crop yield. The selection of the most suitable crop is influenced by various environmental factors such as temperature, soil fertility, water availability, quality, and seasonal variations, as well as economic considerations such as stock availability, preservation capabilities, market demand, purchasing power, and crop prices. The paper outlines a framework used to evaluate the performance of various machine-learning algorithms for forecasting crop yields. The models were based on a range of prime parameters including pesticides, rainfall and average temperature. The Results of three machine learning algorithms, Categorical Boosting (CatBoost), Light Gradient-Boosting Machine (LightGBM), and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) are compared and found more accurate than other algorithms in predicting crop yields. The RMSE and R2 values were calculated to compare the predicted and observed rice yields, resulting in the following values: CatBoost with 800 (0.24), LightGBM with 737 (0.33), and XGBoost with 744 (0.31). Among these three machine learning algorithms, CatBoost demonstrated the highest precision in predicting yields, achieving an accuracy rate of 99.123%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high cost of manual weed control and the overuse of herbicides restrict the yield and quality of soybean. Intelligent mechanical weeding and precise application of pesticides can be used as effective alternatives for weed control in the field, and these require accurate distinction between crops and weeds. In this paper, images of soybean seedlings and weeds in different growth areas are used as datasets. In the aspect of soybean recognition, this paper designs a YOLOv8nGP algorithm with a backbone network optimisation based on GhostNet and an unconstrained pruning method with a 60% pruning rate. Compared with the original YOLOv8n, the YOLOv8nGP improves the Precision (P), Recall (R), and F1 metrics by 1.1% each, reduces the model size by 3.6 mb, and the inference time was 2.2 ms, which could meet the real-time requirements of field operations. In terms of weed recognition, this study utilises an image segmentation method based on the Normalized Excess Green Index (NExG). After filtering the soybean seedlings, the green parts of the image are extracted for weed recognition, which reduces the dependence on the diversity of the weed datasets. This study combines deep learning with traditional algorithms, which provides a new solution for weed recognition of soybean seedlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quantification of ammonia (NH3) emissions is essential to the more accurate quantification of atmospheric nitrogen deposition, improved air quality and the assessment of ammonia-related agricultural policy and climate mitigation strategies. The quantity, geographic distribution and historical trends of these emissions remain largely uncertain. In this paper, a new Chinese agricultural fertilizer NH3 (CAF NH3) emissions inventory has been compiled that exhibits the following improvements: (1) a 1 km × 1 km gridded map on the county level was developed for 2008, (2) a combined bottom-up and top-down method was used for the local correction of emission factors (EFs) and parameters, (3) the spatial and temporal patterns of historical time trends for 1978-2008 were estimated and the uncertainties were quantified for the inventories, and (4) a sensitivity test was performed in which a province-level disaggregated map was compared with CAF NH3 emissions for 2008. The total CAF NH3 emissions for 2008 were 8.4 Tg NH3 yr-1 (a 6.6-9.8 Tg interquartile range). From 1978 to 2008, annual NH3 emissions fluctuated with three peaks (1987, 1996 and 2005), and total emissions increased from 3.2 to 8.4 Tg at an annual rate of 3.0 %. During the study period, the contribution of livestock manure spreading increased from 37.0 to 45.5 % because of changing fertilization practices and the rapid increase in egg, milk and meat consumption. The average contribution of synthetic fertilizer, which has a positive effect on crop yields, was approximately 38.3 % (minimum: 33.4 %; maximum: 42.7 %). With rapid urbanization causing a decline in the rural population, the contribution of the rural excrement sector varied widely between 20.3 and 8.5 %. The average contributions of cake fertilizer and straw returning were approximately 3.8 and 4.5 %, respectively, thus small and stable. Collectively, the CAF-NH3 emissions reflect the nation's agricultural policy to a certain extent. An effective approach to decreasing PM2.5 concentrations in China would be to simultaneously decrease NOx, SO2 and NH3 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture plays a pivotal role in our society by providing food, fiber, and raw materials for various industries. The world's population is steadily growing, and there is increasing pressure on agriculture to meet the rising global food demand. In this context, the use of machine learning approaches to predict crop yields has gained significant importance. This paper aim is to study the significance of crop yield prediction through machine learning, its methods, applications, and its potential to revolutionize the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate identification of crop diseases can effectively improve crop yield. Most current crop diseases present small targets, dense numbers, occlusions and similar appearance of different diseases, and the current target detection algorithms are not effective in identifying similar crop diseases. Therefore, in this paper, an improved model based on YOLOv5s was proposed to improve the detection of crop diseases. First, the CSP structure of the original model in the feature fusion stage was improved, and a lightweight structure was used in the improved CSP structure to reduce the model parameters, while the feature information of different layers was extracted in the form of multiple branches. A structure named CAM was proposed, which can extract global and local features of each network layer separately, and the CAM structure can better fuse semantic and scale inconsistent features to enhance the extraction of global information of the network. In order to increase the number of positive samples in the model training process, one more grid was added to the original model with three grids to predict the target, and the formula for the prediction frame centroid offset was modified to obtain the better prediction frame centroid offset when the target centroid falled on the special point of the grid. To solve the problem of the prediction frame being scaled incorrectly during model training, an improved DIoU loss function was used to replace the GIoU loss function used in the original YOLOv5s. Finally, the improved model was trained using transfer learning, the results showed that the improved model had the best mean average precision (mAP) performance compared to the Faster R-CNN, SSD, YOLOv3, YOLOv4, YOLOv4-tiny, and YOLOv5s models, and the mAP, F1 score, and recall of the improved model were 95.92%, 0.91, and 87.89%, respectively. Compared with YOLOv5s, they improved by 4.58%, 5%, and 4.78%, respectively. The detection speed of the improved model was 40.01 FPS, which can meet the requirement of real-time detection. The results showed that the improved model outperformed the original model in several aspects, had stronger robustness and higher accuracy, and can provide better detection for crop diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) has brought about transformative changes across diverse industries, and its application in agriculture, particularly in soil management, has become a focal point of research and innovation. This paper explores the paradigm shift enabled by IoT in detecting organic carbon in soil, with the overarching goal of advancing agricultural productivity and sustainability. Emphasizing the pivotal role of organic carbon in soil health, the research addresses the existing challenges associated with its detection and underscores the potential advantages offered by IoT-based solutions for precise and real-time monitoring. The study meticulously examines various IoT technologies, including sensors, data analytics, and wireless communication protocols, within the specific context of organic carbon detection. A thorough review of contemporary techniques, methodologies, and devices utilized in IoT-based organic carbon detection in soil is presented. The paper not only sheds light on the current state-of-the-art but also explores the advantages, limitations, and prospects inherent in the implementation of IoT-enabled systems in agriculture. The envisioned outcomes encompass enhanced soil management practices, heightened crop yields, and the simultaneous preservation of the environment. In essence, this research contributes to the expanding body of knowledge surrounding IoT applications in agriculture, specifically emphasizing the transformative potential of IoT-enabled organic carbon detection for revolutionizing farming practices and promoting sustainable agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural product costs play a significant part in the horticultural market. In India, vegetables, for example, tomatoes have the biggest supply and price variances among farming items. As tomatoes are grown around the year, outdoor and indoor, their yields change because of various factors, it is hard to settle tomatoes' inventory and costs. Although the Government puts numerous efforts to balance out the supply and costs of vegetables, continuous meteorological changes have prompted unstable supply and price fluctuations of vegetables. Accordingly, the right anticipating of vegetable costs is a significant issue. To oblige these, in this paper, an attempt has been made to dissect the costs and yield of tomatoes in India by utilizing a Machine Learning approach. This will unquestionably help the farmers and the Government if the anticipated costs are getting higher in the forthcoming months, then appropriate strategies can be made to diminish the costs of tomatoes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial paper takes the form of a concise report and delves into a critical and intricate issue essential for the sustainability of agriculture. It centers on the intricate relationship between agri-cultural water resource management and agronomical practices, as well as their ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change while ensuring both the quantity and quality of crop yields. Specifically, this paper serves as a synopsis of how the far-reaching consequences of climate change for water resources impact agricultural production. It also highlights primary adaptation strategies for managing agricultural water resources, as drawn from the existing literature. Such strategies are designed to counteract the potentially adverse impacts of climate change on the rural sector. Fur-thermore, this brief report offers a valuable overview of the 17 selected papers featured in this Special Issue (SI) on Water, published by MDPI. These papers serve as exemplars of cutting-edge approaches to adaptability in water resource management and resilient crop production systems, as these fields attempt to thrive in an ever-changing environmental landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a powerful statistical method, meta-analysis has been applied increasingly in agricultural science with remarkable progress. However, meta-analysis research reports in the agricultural discipline still need to be systematically combed. Scientometrics is often used to quantitatively analyze research on certain themes. In this study, the literature from a 30-year period (1992–2021) was retrieved based on the Web of Science database, and a quantitative analysis was performed using the VOSviewer and CiteSpace visual analysis software packages. The objective of this study was to investigate the current application of meta-analysis in agricultural sciences, the latest research hotspots, and trends, and to identify influential authors, research institutions, countries, articles, and journal sources. Over the past 30 years, the volume of the meta-analysis literature in agriculture has increased rapidly. We identified the top three authors (Sauvant D, Kebreab E, and Huhtanen P), the top three contributing organizations (Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Institute for Agricultural Research, and Northwest A&F University), and top three productive countries (the USA, China, and France). Keyword cluster analysis shows that the meta-analysis research in agricultural sciences falls into four categories: climate change, crop yield, soil, and animal husbandry. Jeffrey (2011) is the most influential and cited research paper, with the highest utilization rate for the Journal of Dairy Science. This paper objectively evaluates the development of meta-analysis in the agricultural sciences using bibliometrics analysis, grasps the development frontier of agricultural research, and provides insights into the future of related research in the agricultural sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change-related impacts have hampered the productivity of agricultural lands in recent times, affecting food security globally. Novel technology-based agricultural production systems such as controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) are a way to reduce the impact of climatic variation and pests that harm current global crop production and ensure consistent crop development. These systems often use artificial lighting and soilless mediums to produce crops. This meta-analysis has investigated the key influencing factors on crop production within these systems, using previous studies on lettuce (the most cultivated crop in these systems) to understand what affects yield within CEA. This analysis has found that on average, CEA systems yield twice that of field-based agriculture (3.68 kg m−2 vs. 1.88 kg m−2), with the most influencing factors being the variety of cultivars grown, the season, the nutrient delivery method, and the lighting type. The cultivation time for this study was 40 days, with 94% of papers having trial periods of 70 days or less, much lower than field-based agriculture (60–120 days). Vertical farming (stacked vertical CEA cultivation) studies were found to especially drive up yield per area (6.88 kg m−2). The results of this meta-analysis are useful for starting to understand the key influencing factors on CEA growth and highlight the breadth of research ongoing in the CEA industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton are at the forefront of an intense debate on the benefits of genetically modified (GM) crops among smallholder farmers in developing countries. Existing studies fail to control for confounders, selection bias, or cultivation bias from preferential treatment in the initial adoption phase. Addressing these concerns in this paper, I examine the impact of Bt cotton employing an unbalanced panel fixed-effects model of a crop yield and profit function on newly collected plot-level data in the most recent decade. Results show that Bt cotton yields have stagnated, have a null effect on profits, and have become more sensitive to pest pressure in the most recent decade. Though many studies have demonstrated higher crop yield and profit gains in the first decade of Bt cotton adoption that raised the average returns to the technology, the second decade shows convergence in benefits, which raises obvious questions about the prospect of GM technology. Since Bt cotton is the only GM crop technology widely adopted by smallholder farmers, the findings of this paper contribute to the broader public debate on the future of agricultural biotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichoderma is a cosmopolitan fungus widely distributed around the world. The different uses of this beneficial fungus are varied in several industries, like agriculture, textile, and paper, including the pharmaceutical industry. The genus Trichoderma has other mechanisms of action, including the production of different enzymes and secreted secondary metabolites used in various industries. The genomes of different Trichoderma species have been sequenced to identify the mechanisms for producing several compounds. The advancement of multiple technologies has allowed the development of transformation tools for the genetic improvement of Trichoderma, thus increasing biomass, primary and secondary metabolites, and enzymes. Therefore, genetic modification aims to increase compound production in several Trichoderma strains. Characterization of Trichoderma through gene expression analysis is essential for biotechnology applications. It helps counteract one of the most challenging problems for agriculture today, including climate change and the appearance of pathogens that attack crops with high commercial and food demand. In conclusion, this review analyzes various strategies to improve Trichoderma strains genetically and their multiple applications in the agricultural, textile, paper, and pharmaceutical industries. As a recommendation for future studies with potential impact, the optimization of specific genetic modifications in Trichoderma strains is recommended to improve their adaptability and effectiveness in combating emerging challenges in agriculture, especially those linked to climate change. Investigating possible synergies between genetically modified Trichoderma strains and environmentally sustainable agricultural practices could contribute to developing solutions for crop protection and yield improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis and improvement of crop productivity is one of the most important areas in precision agriculture in the world, including Kazakhstan. In the context of Kazakhstan, agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economy and sustenance of its population. Accurate forecasting of agricultural yields, therefore, becomes paramount in ensuring food security, optimizing resource utilization, and planning for adverse climatic conditions. In-depth analysis and high-quality forecasts can be achieved using machine learning tools. This paper embarks on a critical journey to unravel the intricate relationship between weather conditions and agricultural outputs. Utilizing extensive datasets covering a period from 1990 to 2023, the project aims to deploy advanced data analytics and machine learning techniques to enhance the accuracy and predictability of agricultural yield forecasts. At the heart of this endeavor lies the challenge of integrating and analyzing two distinct types of datasets: historical agricultural yield data and detailed daily weather records of North Kazakhstan for 1990-2023. The intricate task involves not only understanding the patterns within each dataset but also deciphering the complex interactions between them. Our primary objective is to develop models that can accurately predict crop yields based on various weather parameters, a crucial aspect for effective agricultural planning and resource allocation. Using the capabilities of statistical and mathematical analysis in machine learning, a Time series analysis of the main weather factors supposedly affecting crop yields was carried out and a correlation matrix between the factors and crops was demonstrated and analyzed. The study evaluated regression metrics such as Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and R2 for Random Forest, Decision Tree, Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithms. The results indicated that Random Forest generally outperformed the Decision Tree and SVM in terms of predictive accuracy for potato yield forecasting in North Kazakhstan Region. Random Forest Regressor showed the best performance with an R2=0.97865. The RMSE values ranged from 0.25 to 0.46, indicating relatively low error rates, and the R2 values were generally positive, indicating a good fit of the model to the data. This paper seeks to address these needs by providing insights and predictive models that can guide farmers, policymakers, and stakeholders in making informed decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weeds compete with crops for water and nutrients and can adversely affect crop growth and yield, so it is important to research effective weed control methods. This paper provides an overview of the impact of weeds on crop yield and describes the current state of research on weed management in field herbaceous crops. Physical weed control mainly refers to thermal technologies represented by flame weed control and laser weed control, which can efficiently and accurately remove weeds. Mechanical weed control requires a combination of sensor technologies, machine vision technology, and high-precision navigation to improve weed control accuracy. Biological weed control relies heavily on plant extracts and pathogens to create herbicides, but it is costly, and some can be toxic to mammals. Chemical weed control is a common method, resulting in environmental pollution and weed resistance. To reduce the use of chemical herbicides, scholars have proposed integrated weed management strategies, which combine biological control, control of the seed bank, and improve crop competitiveness. Integrated weed management strategies are considered to be the future direction of weed management. In conclusion, physical, mechanical, biological, and chemical weed control methods are commonly used in weed management. Each method has its applicable scenarios, and the implementation of integrated weed management strategies can lead to better weed control, improving crop yield and quality. The main objective of this review is to organize the research progress on weed management methods for herbaceous crops in the field and to provide a reference for the agricultural sector to develop weed control strategies. Specifically, this paper categorizes weed management methods into four groups, discusses and presents the advantages and disadvantages of the aforementioned weed control methods, and discusses future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farming is using more terrestrial ground with increases in population and the expanding use of agriculture for non-nutritional purposes such as biofuel production. This agricultural expansion exerts an increasing impact on the terrestrial carbon cycle. In order to understand the impact of such processes, the Community Land Model (CLM) has been augmented with a CLM-Crop extension that simulates the development of three crop types: maize, soybean, and spring wheat. The CLM-Crop model is a complex system that relies on a suite of parametric inputs that govern plant growth under a given atmospheric forcing and available resources. CLM-Crop development used measurements of gross primary productivity and net ecosystem exchange from AmeriFlux sites to choose parameter values that optimize crop productivity in the model. In this paper we calibrate these values in order to provide a faithful projection in terms of both plant development and net carbon exchange, using a Markov chain Monte Carlo technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the pressure on South Africa's irrigated agriculture to improve efficiency and optimal water use, irrigators must consider alternative water sources, such as root-accessible shallow groundwater tables, to supply the crop evapotranspiration requirement. Devising irrigation scheduling strategies that will optimize conjunctive water use is difficult because the contribution of shallow groundwater tables is not directly observed and is a function of irrigation management decisions; as a result, very few irrigators use these strategies. This paper aims to evaluate the profitability of using shallow groundwater tables as a source of irrigation water to satisfy crop evapotranspiration requirements. A bio-economic simulation model consisting of the soil–water–atmosphere–plant model and an economic accounting module was developed to calculate the profitability of conjunctive irrigation practices under different states of nature. The bio-economic simulation model was linked to a differential evolutionary algorithm to optimize the irrigation scheduling decisions. The results showed that irrigators could substantially increase profitability and water use efficiency if they consider the shallow groundwater table in their irrigation decision. About 51% of crop evapotranspiration could originate from shallow groundwater tables, reducing the irrigation requirements substantially without impacting crop yields. Sequential adaptive irrigation decision-making does not improve the bio-economic indicators much since using the shallow groundwater table mitigates the risk of undersupplying water. Therefore, conjunctive water use strategies using shallow groundwater tables economically benefit irrigators. However, a complex interplay exists between irrigation adjustments, crop yields and economic performance in different states, emphasizing the careful consideration of context-specific factors in irrigation management decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time seed detection on resource-constrained embedded devices is essential for the agriculture industry and crop yield. However, traditional seed variety detection methods either suffer from low accuracy or cannot directly run on embedded devices with desirable real-time performance. In this paper, we focus on the detection of rapeseed varieties and design a dual-dimensional (spatial and channel) pruning method to lighten the YOLOv7 (a popular object detection model based on deep learning). We design experiments to prove the effectiveness of the spatial dimension pruning strategy. And after evaluating three different channel pruning methods, we select the custom ratio layer-by-layer pruning, which offers the best performance for the model. The results show that using custom ratio layer-by-layer pruning can achieve the best model performance. Compared to the YOLOv7 model, this approach results in mAP increasing from 96.68% to 96.89%, the number of parameters reducing from 36.5 M to 9.19 M, and the inference time per image on the Raspberry Pi 4B reducing from 4.48 s to 1.18 s. Overall, our model is suitable for deployment on embedded devices and can perform real-time detection tasks accurately and efficiently in various application scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a "Smart Fertilizing Using Internet of Things (IoT) Multi-Sensors" system to enhance fertilizer management in agriculture. The system has four main parts: the Nutro Determining Unit (NDU), the Nutro Sensing Unit (NSU), the Nutro UAV Variable Fertiliser Spray System, and a Variable Rate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Sprayer model. The NDU collects vital data on Soil Moisture (SM) and Environmental Conditions (EnC) using advanced IoT cameras, while the NSU consolidates and normalises the data for advanced analysis using Heuristic Decision Trees (HDT) and Random Forest (RF) algorithms. In India, a data-driven UAV system uses IoT and UAV technologies to determine nutrient needs and create a prescription map for fertilizer application. The approach caused increases in the efficient utilisation of resources, Crop Yield (CY), and ecological footprint when it underwent evaluation in a crop maize field that was 14 hectares in size. A fresh benchmark for Smart Farming (SF) techniques has been set up by this method of operation, which is motivated by data and symbolises an important innovation in modern and ecologically conscious SF methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating soil quality is crucial for ensuring the sustainable use of agricultural lands. This review examines the definition, evaluation methods, indicator selection, and relevant case studies. The concept of soil quality supplements soil science research by deepening our understanding of soils and aiding in the allocation of resources as agriculture intensifies to meet rising global demand. Soil quality provides a framework for educating stakeholders about the essential functions of soils and offers a tool for assessing and comparing different management techniques. Regular evaluation of soil quality is vital for maintaining high crop yields and addressing the gap between production and consumption. Nowadays, many researchers have explored machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques and various algorithms to model and predict soil quality with satisfactory results. These chosen indicators can be influenced by chemical, biological, or physical features. This paper compares ML and DL with traditional methods, examining their features, limitations, different categories of machine learning, and their applications in soil quality assessment. Finally, we show that predicting soil quality has the potential to be extremely accurate and efficient with ML and DL. This distinguishes the application of DL and ML from other approaches since they can anticipate the soil quality index without the need for more intricate computations. Our suggestion for future studies is to evaluate soil quality over broader regions and predict it by using more accurate, modern, and faster methods, using a variety of activation functions and algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The responses of crop functioning to changing climate and atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]) could have large effects on food production, and impact carbon, water and energy fluxes, causing feedbacks to climate. To simulate the responses of temperate crops to changing climate and [CO2], accounting for the specific phenology of crops mediated by management practice, we present here the development of a process-oriented terrestrial biogeochemical model named ORCHIDEE-CROP (v0), which integrates a generic crop phenology and harvest module and a very simple parameterization of nitrogen fertilization, into the land surface model (LSM) ORCHIDEEv196, in order to simulate biophysical and biochemical interactions in croplands, as well as plant productivity and harvested yield. The model is applicable for a range of temperate crops, but it is tested here for maize and winter wheat, with the phenological parameterizations of two European varieties originating from the STICS agronomical model. We evaluate the ORCHIDEE-CROP (v0) model against eddy covariance and biometric measurements at 7 winter wheat and maize sites in Europe. The specific ecosystem variables used in the evaluation are CO2 fluxes (NEE), latent heat and sensible heat fluxes. Additional measurements of leaf area index (LAI), aboveground biomass and yield are used as well. Evaluation results reveal that ORCHIDEE-CROP (v0) reproduces the observed timing of crop development stages and the amplitude of pertaining LAI changes in contrast to ORCHIDEEv196 in which by default crops have the same phenology than grass. A near-halving of the root mean square error of LAI from 2.38 ± 0.77 to 1.08 ± 0.34 m² m-2 is obtained between ORCHIDEEv196 and ORCHIDEE-CROP (v0) across the 7 study sites. Improved crop phenology and carbon allocation lead to a general good match between modelled and observed aboveground biomass (with a normalized root mean squared error (NRMSE) of 11.0-54.2%), crop yield, as well as of the daily carbon and energy fluxes with NRMSE of ~9.0-20.1 and ~9.4-22.3 % for NEE, and sensible and latent heat fluxes, respectively. The model data mistfit for energy fluxes are within uncertainties of the measurements, which themselves show an incomplete energy balance closure within the range 80.6-86.3 %. The remaining discrepancies between modelled and observed LAI and other variables at specific sites are partly attributable to unrealistic representation of management events. In addition, ORCHIDEE-CROP (v0) is shown to have the ability to capture the spatial gradients of carbon and energy-related variables, such as gross primary productivity, NEE, sensible heat fluxes and latent heat fluxes, across the sites in Europe, an important requirement for future spatially explicit simulations. Further improvement of the model with an explicit parameterization of nutrition dynamics and of management, is expected to improve its predictive ability to simulate croplands in an Earth System Model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to obtain a good yield and high profitability for the winter wheat crop, a good interaction between the plant and the environment is needed for carrying out a strategic planning of the best agricultural practices. The most representative ones aim at the choice of varieties with genetic characteristics and high production capacity, the application of an optimal level of fertilization and the integrated fight against pathogens, which are key factors that contribute to increasing the productivity and quality of wheat harvests. The paper presents the analysis of the yield and profitability of the wheat crop in three large crop farms of different sizes in Romania. From the analysis carried out, in order to reach the profitability threshold, the following results were highlighted: on the farm of 60 ha, in the year 2021, on a cultivated area of 35.5 ha, the total production realized and sold must be 214.41 tons; on the farm of 600 ha, the cultivated area being 86 ha, the total production obtained and sold must be 514.24 tons; on the 3,000 ha farm, which had a cultivated area of 709.62 ha, the total cultivated and sold production must be 4,209.48 tons. It is necessary to specify the fact that in 2019 and 2020 the profitability threshold could not be reached, in most cases. This situation was due to drought, high production costs and low farm gate prices. The conclusion of the study is that the profitability of the winter wheat crop is difficult to be increased, taking into account the high and growing production expenses registered annually by farmers. In this situation, the increase in farm dependence on subsidies to ensure a favourable raw product for the winter wheat crop has clearly emerged. [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]

In this paper, a survey has been performed on deep learning techniques for supporting farmers in monitoring the crops and their yields. The study has been done on the specific models and frameworks employed for agriculture issues. Also, a study has been done on the data set used, and the overall performance achieved according to the metrics. The comparison listed on basis of few parameters and the findings indicate that deep learning provides high accuracy and is commonly used for image processing techniques. This survey will surely be beneficial for farmers and researchers to find out the results about trends and statistical information of crops, updating facilities and land availability which can in turn help in improving production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scientia Agraria Paranaensis is the property of Revista Scientia Agraria Paranaensis 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.)

Drought has been a concern of global and regional water, carbon and energy cycles. From 1999 to 2011, North China experienced a multiyear precipitation reduction, which decreased significantly water availability as indicated by decreased soil moisture and Palmer Drought Severity Index. In this study, three light use efficiency models (CASA, MODIS-GPP and EC-LUE) and one dynamic vegetation model (IBIS) were used to characterize the impacts of long-term drought on terrestrial carbon fluxes over the North China. All of four models showed the reduction in averaged GPP of 0.026-0.047 Pg C yr-1 from 1999 to 2011 compared to 1982-2011. Based on IBIS model, simulated ecosystem respiration fell from 1999 to 2011 by 0.016 Pg C yr-1. Multiple precipitation reduction changed the regional carbon uptake of 0.0014 Pg C yr-1 from 1982 to 1998 to a net source of 0.018 Pg C yr-1. Moreover, a pronounced decrease of maize yield was found ranging from 1999 to 2011 versus the average of 1978-2011 at almost all provinces over the study region. The largest reduction of maize yield occurred in the Beijing (2499 kg ha-1 yr-1), Jilin (2180 kg ha-1 yr-1), Tianjing (1923 kg ha-1 yr-1) and Heilongjiang (1791 kg ha-1 yr-1), and maize yield anomaly was significantly correlated with the precipitation through May and September over the entire study area. Our results revealed that recent climate change, and especially drought-induced water stress, is the dominant cause of the reduction in the terrestrial carbon sink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable intensification of agriculture requires understanding of the effect of soil characteristics and nutrient supply on crop growth. As farms are increasing in size by acquiring small fields from various farmers, the soil characteristics and nutrient supply might be very different from field to field, while at the same time specific soil properties might limit the nutrient uptake. As a result, there might be a large number of heterogeneous reasons why crop growth varies significantly. New data analysis techniques can help to explain variability in crop growth among fields. This paper introduces Exceptional Growth Mining (EGM) as a first contribution. EGM instantiates the data mining framework Exceptional Model Mining (EMM) such that subgroups of fields can be found that grow exceptionally in terms of three growth parameters (high/low maximum growth, steep/flat linear growth and early/late midpoint of maximum growth). As second contribution, we apply EGM to a case study by analyzing the dataset of a potato farm in the south of the Netherlands. EGM consists of (i) estimating growth curves by applying nonlinear mixed models, (ii) investigating the correlation between the estimated growth parameters, and (iii) applying EMM on these growth curve parameters using a growth curve-specific quality measure. By applying EGM on the data of the potato farm, we obtain the following results: 1) the estimated growth curves represent the variability in potato tuber growth very well (R2 of 0.92), 2) the steepness of the growth curve has a strong correlation with the maximum growth and the midpoint of maximum growth, and the correlation between the midpoint of maximum growth and maximum growth is weak, 3) the subgroup analyses indicate that: high values of K correspond to high maxima; low values of K correspond to low maxima, steep growth curves', and a late midpoint of halfway growth; Mg influences the midpoint of the growth curve; values of B are higher on dry soils with high tuber growth, while low values of B are found on wet soils with high tuber growth; high values of Zn, Mn, and Fe are found in subgroups with low tuber weight, probably related to the soil's low pH. In summary, this paper introduces EGM to obtain understanding in crop response to soil properties and nutrient supply. In addition, EGM provides a way to analyze only small parts of a large dataset, such that the impact of soil factors on growth can be analyzed on a more detailed level than existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop yield prediction is essential for tasks like determining the optimal profile of crops to be planted, allocating government resources, effectively planning and preparing for aid distribution, making decisions about imports, and so on. Crop yield prediction using remote sensing data during the growing season is helpful to farm planning and management, which has received increasing attention. Information mining from multichannel geo-spatiotemporal data brings many benefits to crop yield prediction. However, most of the existing methods have not fully utilized the dimension reduction technology and the spatiotemporal feature of the data. In this paper, a new approach is proposed to predict the yield from multispatial images by using the dimension reduction method and a 3D convolutional neural network. In addition, regions with similar crop yields should have similar features learned by the network. Thus, metric learning and multitask learning are used to learn more discriminative features. We evaluated the proposed method on county-level soybean yield prediction in the United States, and the experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed method provides new ideas for crop yield estimation and effectively improves the accuracy of crop yield estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precision farming, or precision agriculture, represents a paradigm shift in modern agriculture, integrating advanced technologies and data-driven techniques to optimize crop production processes. This paper provides an overview of precision farming, discussing its historical evolution, key technologies, benefits, challenges, and potential regulatory questions. The adoption of precision farming practices holds promise for enhancing resource efficiency, increasing crop yields, and promoting environmental sustainability. Additionally, this paper delves into the economic, environmental, and social implications of precision farming, highlighting its potential to shape the future of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Smart irrigation is a research field which grows very fast. It facilitates the contribution of technologies on smart agriculture. Smart irrigation is a broad topic with overwhelming literature published and available semantic ambiguity, so covering such a vast topic is not easy without scoping reviews. To enable researchers to gain a deep knowledge of structure of the field, a scientometric-based scoping review was conducted. Methods. The bibliometric data focused on smart irrigation from databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were downloaded, thoroughly merged, and cleaned to meet the inclusion criteria. These data were analyzed and clustered using K-means from VOSviewer. VOSviewer is used to create coauthor and coword occurrence network graphs from keywords, titles, and abstracts. Results. The findings highlight the broad scope of the research field, the ambiguity of the terminology, the lack of collaboration, and the absence of research into the impact of smart irrigation on agriculture. The leading institutions and researchers in the field and geographical distribution are from China, Israel, Australia, and Egypt. The leading main topics addressed in the field are IOT, smart irrigation, irrigation, water stress, energy, deep learning, soil moisture, and relations in the network. Conclusion. Smart irrigation (drip irrigation + IoT) in agriculture increases crop yield, increases water use efficiency, and decreases costs. In future work, large studies need to be conducted to establish and investigate the scope of smart irrigation research to reveal the knowledge structure, current state of practice, and key actors in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant phenotyping studies the complex characteristics of plants, with the aim of evaluating and assessing their condition and finding better exemplars. Recently, a new branch emerged in the phenotyping field, namely, high-throughput phenotyping (HTP). Specifically, HTP exploits modern data sampling techniques to gather a high amount of data that can be used to improve the effectiveness of phenotyping. Hence, HTP combines the knowledge derived from the phenotyping domain with computer science, engineering, and data analysis techniques. In this scenario, machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms have been successfully integrated with noninvasive imaging techniques, playing a key role in automation, standardization, and quantitative data analysis. This study aims to systematically review two main areas of interest for HTP: hardware and software. For each of these areas, two influential factors were identified: for hardware, platforms and sensing equipment were analyzed; for software, the focus was on algorithms and new trends. The study was conducted following the PRISMA protocol, which allowed the refinement of the research on a wide selection of papers by extracting a meaningful dataset of 32 articles of interest. The analysis highlighted the diffusion of ground platforms, which were used in about 47% of reviewed methods, and RGB sensors, mainly due to their competitive costs, high compatibility, and versatility. Furthermore, DL-based algorithms accounted for the larger share (about 69%) of reviewed approaches, mainly due to their effectiveness and the focus posed by the scientific community over the last few years. Future research will focus on improving DL models to better handle hardware-generated data. The final aim is to create integrated, user-friendly, and scalable tools that can be directly deployed and used on the field to improve the overall crop yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central European Agriculture is the property of Journal of Central European Agriculture 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.)

Land surface modelling has been widely used to characterize the two-way interactions between climate and human activities in terrestrial ecosystems such as deforestation, agricultural expansion, and urbanization. Towards an effort to quantify the effects of forests to oil palm conversion occurring in the tropics on land-atmosphere carbon, water and energy fluxes, we introduce a new perennial crop plant functional type (PFT) for oil palm. Due to the modular and sequential nature of oil palm growth (around 40 stacked phytomers) and yield (fruit bunches axillated on each phytomer), we developed a specific sub-canopy structure for simulating palm's growth and yield within the framework of the Community Land Model (CLM4.5). In this structure each phytomer has its own prognostic leaf growth and fruit yield capacity like a PFT but with shared stem and root components among all phytomers. Phenology and carbon and nitrogen allocation operate on the different phytomers in parallel but at unsynchronized steps, so that multiple fruit yields per annum are enabled in terms of carbon and nitrogen outputs. An important phenological phase is identified for the palm PFT - the storage growth period of bud and "spear" leaves which are photosynthetically inactive before expansion. Agricultural practices such as transplanting, fertilization, and leaf pruning are represented. Parameters introduced for the new PFT were calibrated and validated with field measurements of leaf area index (LAI) and yield from Sumatra, Indonesia. In calibration with a mature oil palm plantation, the cumulative yields from 2005 to 2014 matched perfectly between simulation and observation (mean percentage error =4%). Simulated inter-annual dynamics of PFT-level and phytomer-level LAI were both within the range of field measurements. Validation from eight independent oil palm sites shows the ability of the model to adequately predict the average leaf growth and fruit yield across sites but also indicates that seasonal dynamics and site-to-site variability of yield are driven by processes not yet implemented in the model. The new sub-canopy structure and phenology and allocation functions now allow exploring the effects of tropical land use change, from natural ecosystems to oil palm plantations, on carbon, water and energy cycles and regional climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-throughput and full-time acquisition of images of crop growth processes, and the analysis of the morphological parameters of their features, is the foundation for achieving fast breeding technology, thereby accelerating the exploration of germplasm resources and variety selection by crop breeders. The evolution of embryonic soybean radicle characteristics during germination is an important indicator of soybean seed vitality, which directly affects the subsequent growth process and yield of soybeans. In order to address the time-consuming and labor-intensive manual measurement of embryonic radicle characteristics, as well as the issue of large errors, this paper utilizes continuous time-series crop growth vitality monitoring system to collect fulltime sequence images of soybean germination. By introducing the attention mechanism SegNext_Attention, improving the Segment module, and adding the CAL module, a YOLOv8-segANDcal model for the segmentation and extraction of soybean embryonic radicle features and radicle length calculation was constructed. Compared to the YOLOv8-seg model, the model respectively improved the detection and segmentation of embryonic radicles by 2% and 1% in mAP50-95, and calculated the contour features and radicle length of the embryonic radicles, obtaining the morphological evolution of the embryonic radicle contour features over germination time. This model provides a rapid and accurate method for crop breeders and agronomists to select crop varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For economic, environmental, and climatic reasons, soil cultivation methods without the use of a plough have became increasingly popular in recent decades. As research has shown, their impact on the growth and yield of crops is not always positive, especially when direct sowing is used. Recently, a new solution in the field of tillage has appeared which involves loosening the soil only within the sowing zone, which is called strip till. In the research presented in this work, this method was used for various cultivars of winter wheat on uncultivated stubble, but also after cultivation of the stubble just after harvest of a forecrop. The aim of the paper was to define the impact of the aforementioned factors on the parameters of photosynthesis, leaf area index, and water use efficiency. The range of soil cultivation after the harvest of the forecrop and cultivars influenced significantly the measured photosynthesis parameters. The impact of the cultivation method and variety on water use efficiency was small, although it should be noted that limiting the intensity of cultivation after the forecrop harvest had a temporary positive impact on the flag leaf phase. The winter wheat cultivar had an impact on the yield obtained: Formacja (0.44 t ha-1) and Metronom (0.37 t ha-1) yielded higher than Desamo. In the case of plough tillage, the yield was higher than in the case of minimum tillage and no tillage. Given the economic and environmental benefits associated with reduced fuel consumption, no tillage with a relatively slightly lower yield may be an alternative to the use of plough tillage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although wood biomass is mostly used to produce solid biofuel pellets, it is important to evaluate the possibilities of using other types of biomass as well. It is not only important to obtain biofuel pellets of suitable quality but also to ensure a sustainable process of producing and using these pellets for energy production. This paper presents an evaluation of the quality characteristics of seven different biofuel pellets made from multi-crop plants (fibrous hemp, maize, and faba bean) and a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the heat production by burning these pellets. The physical-mechanical properties and elemental composition of the pellets are determined according to international standards, as indicated in the methodology section. The LCA was performed using the SimaPro 9.5 software. The complete life cycle from cradle-to-grave is assessed, i.e., from growing plants to spreading ash obtained from pellet burning. An analysis showed that in most cases the produced pellets met the requirements of the standard ISO 17225-6:2021. The lowest negative environmental impact associated with the production of 1 GJ of thermal energy was for pellets made from fibrous hemp and maize biomass (MIX2-1) and pellets made from fibrous hemp and faba bean biomass (MIX2-3). Production of pellets from maize biomass (S-Mz) was found to have the highest carbon footprint (29.1 CO2eq GJ−1) and was associated with the lowest crop yield compared to the other six scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is one of the greatest threats to the social development of human beings. It is a typical example of global climate change, and has profoundly affected human production and life in various aspects. As the foundation of human existence, agricultural production is particularly vulnerable to climate change, which has altered environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation, and wind speed, and affected crop growth cycles, the frequency of extreme weather events, and the occurrence patterns of pests and diseases directly or indirectly, ultimately influencing crop yield and quality. This article reviews the latest research progress in this field, summarizes the impact of global climate change on agricultural production as well as the feedback mechanisms of agricultural activities on climate change, and proposes strategies for agricultural production to cope with global climate change. This paper aims to provide a scientific basis and suggestions for ensuring the sustainable development of agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]