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Soil salinization is among the most critical threats to agriculture and food security. Excess of salts adversely affects soil structure and fertility, plant growth, crop yield, and microorganisms. It is caused by natural processes, such as dry climates and low precipitations, high evaporation rate, poor waterlogging, and human factors, such as inappropriate irrigation practices, poor drainage systems, and excessive use of fertilizers. The growing extremization of climate with prolonged drought conditions is worsening the phenomenon. Nature-based solutions (NBS), combined with precision or conservation agriculture, represent a sustainable response, and offer benefits through revitalizing ecosystem services. This perspective explores NBS that can be adopted, along with their challenges and implementation limitations. We also argue that NBS could not be enough to combat hunger in the worlds most vulnerable regions and fully achieve the Sustainable Development Goal - Zero Hunger (SDG2). We therefore discuss their possible combination with salt-tolerant crops based on bioengineering.

Background Aims Methods Results Conclusions Nanotechnology, utilizing nanoparticles (NPs) with unique physicochemical properties, has significant potential in enhancing sustainable agriculture through innovations in plant nutrition, growth, and protection.This review aims to assess how nanotechnology, particularly NPs, contributes to sustainable agriculture by improving plant nutrition and growth, enhancing stress resistance, and offering solutions for phytoremediation and agricultural efficiency.We examine studies showcasing the application of NPs in agriculture, focusing on their effects on plant growth, nutrient delivery, stress mitigation, pollutant removal, and the enhancement of food shelf life through nano‐encapsulated fertilizers and nano‐sensors.NPs have demonstrated promising results in slow‐release fertilizers for targeted nutrient delivery, improved germination and physiological activity under stress, and enhanced efficiency in phytoremediation by aiding the removal of pollutants. Nano‐sensors in food packaging detect deterioration and extend food shelf life, whereas nano‐encapsulation of agrochemicals offers environment‐friendly pest and nutrient management solutions.Nanotechnology presents a forward‐looking approach to sustainable agriculture by enhancing crop productivity, resource use efficiency, and environmental protection. Continued research is essential to unlock the full potential of NPs in agriculture, emphasizing safe and efficient application methods to mitigate abiotic and biotic stresses and promote sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Global warming significantly impacts amphibian populations globally, and modeling helps understand these effects. Here, we used MaxEnt and MigClim models to predict the impact of climate change on habitat suitability for Hoplobatrachus chinensis. Our results indicate that temperature is a key factor affecting H. chinensis distribution. Increasing temperatures positively correlated with habitat suitability, with suitable habitat expanding northward by 2060 while maintaining suitability in the southern parts of the range. We found a 25.18% overlap between the current potential suitable habitat of H. chinensis and agricultural wetlands. Our model indicated that H. chinensis might be able to track shifts in suitable habitats under climate change given a 15 km dispersal ability per generation. Climate change will likely expand suitable habitat for H. chinensis. Our predictions offer important guidance for the conservation of the species, especially for the integrated role of natural and agricultural wetlands such as rice paddies.

Summary: Soil salinization, exacerbated by climate change, poses significant threats to agricultural productivity, land restoration, and ecosystem resilience. This study reviews current knowledge on plant-soil interactions as a strategy to mitigate soil salinization induced by climate change, focusing on their role in soil salinity dynamics and tolerance mechanisms. The review examines how alterations in hydrological and temperature regimes impact soil salinity and how plant-soil mechanisms—such as salt exclusion, compartmentalization, and plant-microbe interactions—contribute to salinity mitigation. This, in turn, enhances soil quality, fertility, microbial diversity, and ecosystem services. The analysis identifies a growing body of research and highlights key themes and emerging trends, including drought, microbial communities, and salt tolerance strategies. This study underscores the critical role of plant-soil interactions in sustainable salinity management and identifies knowledge gaps and future research priorities, advocating for plant-soil interactions as a crucial pathway for improving ecosystem resilience to salinity stress amid climate change.

Seasonal vegetables play a crucial role in both nutrition and commerce in Bangladesh. Recognizing this significance, our research introduces the 'SeasVeg' dataset, comprising images of ten varieties of seasonal vegetables sourced from Dhaka and Pabna regions. These include Carica papaya, Momordica dioica, Abelmoschus esculentus, Lablab purpureus, Trichosanthes cucumerina, Trichosanthes dioica, Solanum lycopersicum, Brassica oleracea, Momordica charantia, and Raphanus sativus. Our dataset encompasses 4500 images, 1500 original and 3000 augmented, meticulously captured under natural light conditions to ensure authenticity. While our primary focus lies in leveraging machine learning and deep learning techniques for advancements in agriculture science, particularly in aiding healthcare aspects with seasonal vegetables and nutrition's, we acknowledge the versatile utility of our dataset. Beyond healthcare, it serves as a valuable educational resource, facilitating children's and toddlers' learning to identify these vital vegetables. This dual functionality broadens the dataset's appeal and underscores its societal impact beyond the realm of healthcare. Besides, the research culminates in the implementation of machine learning models, achieving noteworthy accuracy. We get the highest 99 % accuracy with the ResNet50 pre-trained CNN model and a good 94 % accuracy with the InceptionV3 pre-trained CNN model when it comes to the computer-aided vegetable classification. However, the 'SeasVeg' dataset represents not only a significant stride in healthcare innovation but also a promising tool for educational endeavors, catering to diverse stakeholders and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.

Background: Plants have been pivotal in traditional and modern medicine globally, with historical evidence supporting their therapeutic applications. Nigella (Nigella sativa L.) is an annual herbaceous plant of the Ranunculaceae family and is cultivated in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Western and Central Asia. The medicinal use of plants dates back thousands of years, documented in ancient writings from various civilizations. Alkaloids, phenolics, saponins, flavonoids, terpenoids, anthraquinones, and tannins found in plants exhibit antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial, and antidiabetic activities. Methodology: This study specifically examines the pharmacological potential of Nigella sativa L., emphasizing thymoquinone--a compound with diverse nutraceutical benefits. The extraction, characterization, and quantification of thymoquinone, alongside other physicochemical parameters, were carried out using ethanol through Soxhlet extraction procedures on five nigella varieties. HPLC analysis was performed to determine the maximum accumulation of thymoquinone in the released variety of the plant and the chemical composition of the seed oil isolated from Nigella sativa L., varieties utilized in the study was determined through GC-MS analysis. Results: The research revealed that the Ajmer nigella-20 variety stands out, exhibiting elevated levels of thymoquinone (0.20 ± 0.07%), antioxidants (76.18 ± 1.78%), and substantial quantities of total phenols (31.85 ± 0.97 mg GAEg-1 seed) and flavonoids (8.150 ± 0.360 mg QE 100 g-1 seed) compared to other varieties. The GC-MS profiling showed the presence of 11 major compounds in the studied varieties, with p-cymene, longifolene, and myristic acid identified as the major chemical compounds present in the oil. Conclusion: The observed variations among Nigella varieties indicate the Ajmer nigella-20 variety as particularly promising for thymoquinone and bioactive compound extraction. This study underscores Nigella's potential as a source of pharmacologically active compounds, highlighting the need for further exploration in therapeutic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on higher agricultural and forestry education, we have explored and practiced the teaching of organic chemistry course from aspects such as teaching cases, teaching methods, and teacher team building. The teaching practice has shown that it has stimulated students’ interest in learning, broadened their horizons, and helped them appreciate the charm of frontier research in organic chemistry (especially the cross-integration with agricultural science). It has also cultivated students’ cultural literacy, professional competence, and scientific literacy, shaping their passion for agriculture and the country. The teaching approach has achieved the integration of knowledge imparting, competence development, and value-oriented guidance, effectively addressing the issue of incomplete alignment between public basic courses and professional education needs. It has fully played the role of the course in the cultivation of agricultural science talents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study assessed instructional strategies in agricultural science to enhanced senior secondary school's students interest in agriculture, within Zaria educational zone. Four specific objectives, four research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. Structure questionnaire design on 4-point rating scale with 154 teachers and 200 students as sampled respondents was used. The data was analysed using mean, standard deviation and t - test at 5% level of significance. The result revealed that most of the teachers were male (72.08%), with age ranged from 35 - 39 years (35.07%), married (64.29%) and were qualified to teach agricultural science at senior secondary school level (76.63%) with more than five years working experience (81.85%). Use of successful agropreneurs as resource person, use of motivation and less punishment, giving award/rewards to students, taking students for field trips, relating teaching with real life situation outside classroom, exposing students' on careers opportunities in agriculture, organizing agricultural shows and exhibition among others were acceptable instructional based strategies that could enhance students' interest in agriculture. However, there was significant difference on the mean responses of teachers and students on the instructionalbased strategies that could enhanced students interest in agriculture. Recommendations were made based on the findings of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent critical inquiries in metadiscourse research call into question the functional inadequacy of a word-based lexical approach. To account more fully the functional affordances of metadiscoursal features in academic writing, this paper examines the Interactional Metadiscourse, namely hedges, boosters, attitude markers and self-mentions based on a 2.64-million-word corpus of L1-English expert and L1-Chinese student writing in Agricultural Science. Through an intra-generic lens, we found a significant effect of part-genre on the use of all four target categories for both writer groups; and L1-English experts employed significantly more hedges than L2 students while L2 students used significantly more boosters and attitude markers. Functionally, both groups shared a largely similar deployment of functional subtypes across part-genres with L1-English experts outperforming L2 students only in one function: 'stating a goal or purpose' in self-mentions. Subsequent qualitative discourse-functional analyses at part-genre level between two writer groups explained some student-produced discipline-inappropriate metadiscoursal choices. This paper concludes with resources for a rigorous coding development, and implications for teaching metadiscourse to disciplinary writers with an emphasis on using available discipline-specific corpora to understand how functional taxonomizations of IM interface with socio-rhetorical contexts in disciplinary writing. • An intrageneric and functional perspective on interactional metadiscourse (IM). • A rigorous coding protocol for reliable analysis of potential IM items. • Conclusion is profuse with IM features; Methods is the least interactional. • Strong interaction between part-genre and expertise in boosters and attitude markers. • Students use some rhetorically and disciplinarily inappropriate IM features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-service teacher training programs offer opportunities for teachers in both public and private schools to enhance their professional skills, particularly in the areas of required teaching skills, supplementary subject content knowledge, and teaching pedagogy. The lack of availability of in-service teacher training programs for teachers within the education system has undesirable consequences, particularly regarding the delivery of quality education to learners in public and private schools in the Zambezi region, Namibia. This paper discusses the perspectives of Agricultural science teachers on the need for in-service teacher training. To achieve the objectives of this paper, crucial data were collected from Agricultural science teachers in the Zambezi region through face-to-face interviews. Twelve Agricultural science teachers (comprising six from urban schools and six from semi-urban schools) were interviewed using face-to-face interview guides. The study revealed that the in-service teacher training programs attended by Agricultural science teachers were relevant to their teaching roles. Furthermore, the study emphasized that to maintain the relevance of in-service teacher training programs, components such as practical activities, projects, investigations, and subject content knowledge should be the focus, in order to continually enhance the capacities of Agricultural science teachers. The study recommends that the regional education directorate in the Zambezi region establish a policy for continuous in-service teacher training programs, including them in their annual financial plan, to improve teacher performance in the region. Lastly, to ensure the success of in-service teacher training programs, they should be conducted on an ongoing basis.

The purpose of the research was to find out why the reforms of the long-term state policy for the development of national science did not lead to an increase in the funding of scientific research and an increase in the role of science in the national innovation system, including in the field of agricultural science. The study was conducted using questionnaire-based survey methods and focused expert interviews. The results obtained in the course of the research are of practical interest to the authorized bodies of the state scientific and innovation policy of Kazakhstan, subjects of innovation infrastructure and entrepreneurs in the field of science and innovation. According to the results of the survey, the trend of scientists' dissatisfaction with the existing system of financing agro-industrial science is clearly traced, as well as their own opinions on specific measures to solve problems existing in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-service teacher training programs offer opportunities for teachers in both public and private schools to enhance their professional skills, particularly in the areas of required teaching skills, supplementary subject content knowledge, and teaching pedagogy. The lack of availability of in-service teacher training programs for teachers within the education system has undesirable consequences, particularly regarding the delivery of quality education to learners in public and private schools in the Zambezi region, Namibia. This paper discusses the perspectives of Agricultural science teachers on the need for in-service teacher training. To achieve the objectives of this paper, crucial data were collected from Agricultural science teachers in the Zambezi region through face-to-face interviews. Twelve Agricultural science teachers (comprising six from urban schools and six from semi-urban schools) were interviewed using face-to-face interview guides. The study revealed that the in-service teacher training programs attended by Agricultural science teachers were relevant to their teaching roles. Furthermore, the study emphasized that to maintain the relevance of in-service teacher training programs, components such as practical activities, projects, investigations, and subject content knowledge should be the focus, in order to continually enhance the capacities of Agricultural science teachers. The study recommends that the regional education directorate in the Zambezi region establish a policy for continuous in-service teacher training programs, including them in their annual financial plan, to improve teacher performance in the region. Lastly, to ensure the success of in-service teacher training programs, they should be conducted on an ongoing basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the differential item functioning of National Examinations Council (NECO) Agricultural Science multiple choice test items (2015-2017) in South East Zone. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and ex-Post-Facto research design. Two null hypotheses were formulated and test in the study. The population of the study consisted of 10, 194 Agricultural Science students. Sample size of 728 Agricultural Science Senior Secondary School students (SSS III) were proportionately drawn from the 72 selected secondary schools that constituted the sample size of the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was NECO paper III questions constructed in 2015-2017.The instrument was re-validated by experts in Educational Measurement and Evaluation and Agricultural Extension Education. The data obtained was analysed using Kuder Richardson Formular 20 with reliability indices of 0.76. Data obtained for the study were analyzed using the Scheuneman modified Chi-square statistic to analyze all the research questions and chi-square statistic was employed in testing the null hypotheses. Results showed that that Agricultural Science multiple-choice test items used in NECO 2015-2017, contain test items that significantly functioned differentially for testees on the basis of gender and that there was no significant difference between male and female students on the percentage of items which functioned differentially in the 2015-2017 NECO Agricultural Science multiple choice test examination. It was thus recommended among others that test experts and developers should consider the use of Scheuneman modified chi-square in determining differential item functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Heavy metal pollution has become a global environmental issue. Heavy metals are contaminating the agro-soils, growing crops, and vegetables through different agricultural practices. In this study, besides the phytoremediation potential of maize, the role of chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb) on crop and soil health has been investigated. Methods. Two maize varieties, Pak-Afgoi and Neelem, were grown under varying concentrations of Cr (50-300 ppm) and Pb (30-300 ppm) and different growth parameters i.e., seed germination, leaf size/number, stem girth, plant height, biomass, chlorophyll content, relative growth rate (RGR), and net assimilation rate (NAR) were studied under Cr and Pb stress. Likewise, the effect of metals was also assessed on different soil characteristics including soil texture, pH, EC, soil organic matter, urease activity and nutrients. Results. Studied plant attributes were adversely affected by heavy metals toxicity. Affected values of RGR and NAR showed a linear correlation with affected growth and dry matter yield of maize. Heavy metals impacted different soil parameters including soil microbial performance and revealed a declining trend as compared to control soil. Maize varieties showed a significant phytoremediation potential i.e., uptake of Cr and Pb was 33% and 22% in Pak-Afgoi, while Neelem showed 38% and 24% at 300 ppm, respectively. Data regarding metal translocation factor (TF), bioaccumulation factor (ACF), and biomagnification ratio (BMR) significantly revealed the potential of maize varieties in the removal of Cr and Pb metals from affected soils. However, Cr-accumulation was higher in shoots, and Pb accumulated in plant roots showed a differential behavior of metal translocation and affinity with the varieties. These maize varieties may be recommended for general cultivation in the Cr and Pb-contaminated areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research to this point has examined food, agricultural, natural resource, and human science (FANRHS) podcast creation, the trustworthiness of the information presented, and the credibility of the individuals speaking on the podcast. The purpose of this study was to explore the level of trust in science of FANRHS podcast producers, guests, and listeners. The study followed an explanatory sequential mixed-method design beginning with an online survey instrument to measure trust in science and later, semi-structured interviews to further explore participants' perceptions of trust and trust in science. Results showed participants had moderate to moderately high levels of trust in science. The study produced recommendations for podcast producers and guests regarding how to increase the credibility of their content and how to better foster science engagement. Future research should delineate trust based on various sub-topics within FANRHS and further explore specific communication tactics and framing strategies to create trusting relationships with podcast listeners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Plants have been pivotal in traditional and modern medicine globally, with historical evidence supporting their therapeutic applications. Nigella (Nigella sativa L.) is an annual herbaceous plant of the Ranunculaceae family and is cultivated in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Western and Central Asia. The medicinal use of plants dates back thousands of years, documented in ancient writings from various civilizations. Alkaloids, phenolics, saponins, flavonoids, terpenoids, anthraquinones, and tannins found in plants exhibit antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial, and antidiabetic activities. Methodology This study specifically examines the pharmacological potential of Nigella sativa L., emphasizing thymoquinone—a compound with diverse nutraceutical benefits. The extraction, characterization, and quantification of thymoquinone, alongside other physicochemical parameters, were carried out using ethanol through Soxhlet extraction procedures on five nigella varieties. HPLC analysis was performed to determine the maximum accumulation of thymoquinone in the released variety of the plant and the chemical composition of the seed oil isolated from Nigella sativa L., varieties utilized in the study was determined through GC-MS analysis. Results The research revealed that the Ajmer nigella-20 variety stands out, exhibiting elevated levels of thymoquinone (0.20 ± 0.07%), antioxidants (76.18 ± 1.78%), and substantial quantities of total phenols (31.85 ± 0.97 mg GAEg−1 seed) and flavonoids (8.150 ± 0.360 mg QE 100 g−1 seed) compared to other varieties. The GC-MS profiling showed the presence of 11 major compounds in the studied varieties, with p-cymene, longifolene, and myristic acid identified as the major chemical compounds present in the oil. Conclusion The observed variations among Nigella varieties indicate the Ajmer nigella-20 variety as particularly promising for thymoquinone and bioactive compound extraction. This study underscores Nigella’s potential as a source of pharmacologically active compounds, highlighting the need for further exploration in therapeutic applications.

IntroductionThis study determined what information presented on Twitter (X) on tickborne diseases and their prevention and investigated the relationships between content information and engagement rate. The escalating incidence of vectorborne diseases, particularly those transmitted by ticks, has emerged as a significant public health concern. Communicating tick risks effectively to the public has become an urgent issue.MethodsA quantitative content analysis was used to examine tick-related contents to understand how this infectious disease was framed on social media, with 340 tweets comprising the final sample for this study.ResultsIn Twitter communication about tick risks, over half (55.3%) of the tweets lacked any visual content. Among the tweets with visuals, static photographs and illustrations/rendered images were the most commonly employed forms. Individual persons, news, and health/governmental organizations are the main tweeters. Additionally, most tweets use situational awareness, tool acquisition, and research frames and are in loss-frame. Approximately half (48.8%) of the tweets highlight adverse consequences or frame risk preparedness in negative terms. Tweets with visual aids have higher engagement rates, while those with URLs do not. Finally, tweets use different preparedness response frames and tend to use different gain-/ loss-frames. Specifically, tweets emphasizing situational awareness to alert the public about ticks and tickborne diseases predominantly utilize loss-frames, emphasizing higher risks than tool acquisition or research frames.DiscussionThe study’s findings underscore the importance of strategic communication in public health messaging on social media. By understanding the types of content that generate higher engagement and the framing that resonates with audiences, health organizations and other stakeholders can tailor their communications better to inform the public about tick risks and prevention strategies. This could lead to more effective disease prevention efforts and a better-informed public ready to take appropriate actions to protect themselves from tickborne diseases.

Summary: Soil salinization is among the most critical threats to agriculture and food security. Excess of salts adversely affects soil structure and fertility, plant growth, crop yield, and microorganisms. It is caused by natural processes, such as dry climates and low precipitations, high evaporation rate, poor waterlogging, and human factors, such as inappropriate irrigation practices, poor drainage systems, and excessive use of fertilizers. The growing extremization of climate with prolonged drought conditions is worsening the phenomenon. Nature-based solutions (NBS), combined with precision or conservation agriculture, represent a sustainable response, and offer benefits through revitalizing ecosystem services. This perspective explores NBS that can be adopted, along with their challenges and implementation limitations. We also argue that NBS could not be enough to combat hunger in the world’s most vulnerable regions and fully achieve the Sustainable Development Goal – Zero Hunger (SDG2). We therefore discuss their possible combination with salt-tolerant crops based on bioengineering.

Summary: In this paper, we review, compare, and analyze previous studies on agricultural machinery automatic navigation and path planning technologies. First, the paper introduces the fundamental components of agricultural machinery autonomous driving, including automatic navigation, path planning, control systems, and communication modules. Generally, the methods for automatic navigation technology can be divided into three categories: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Machine Vision, and Laser Radar. The structures, advantages, and disadvantages of different methods and the technical difficulties of current research are summarized and compared. At present, the more successful way is to use GNSS combined with machine vision to provide guarantee for agricultural machinery to avoid obstacles and generate the optimal path. Then the path planning methods are described, including four path planning algorithms based on graph search, sampling, optimization, and learning. This paper proposes 22 available algorithms according to different application scenarios and summarizes the challenges and difficulties that have not been completely solved in the current research. Finally, some suggestions on the difficulties arising in these studies are proposed for further research.

This paper investigates examination malpractice as one of the determinants of poor performance in agricultural science among students in secondary schools in Ile – Ife. This will help in identifying the major factors responsible for this, and how to improve the students’ performance in agricultural science so as to build students in developing more interest in the subject for better agricultural productivity at all levels. The descriptive research survey type was used. The population is made of all senior secondary school students offering agricultural science and agricultural science teachers of selected schools in Ife central local government. Two hundred secondary school students were selected. Fourty students were randomly selected from each of the five schools from the local government. Also, two agricultural science teachers were selected each from the five schools in the local government. Data were analyzed using frequency counts and percentages. Findings revealed that there were examination malpractices among students in Agricultural science. Poor performance of students in agricultural science as a result of examination malpractice reduces the interest of young secondary school leavers especially youths in the area of agriculture.

Summary: In most economically underdeveloped areas, scattered farming and human‒livestock cohabitation are common. However, production of bioaerosols and their potential harm in these areas have not been previously researched. In this study, bioaerosol characteristics were analyzed in scattered farming areas in rural Northwest China. The highest bacteria, fungi, and Enterobacteria concentrations were 125609 ± 467 CFU/m³, 25175 ± 10305 CFU/m³, and 4167 ± 592 CFU/m³, respectively. Most bioaerosols had particle sizes >3.3 μm. A total of 71 bacterial genera and 16 fungal genera of potential pathogens were identified, including zoonotic potential pathogenic genera. Moreover, our findings showed that the scattered farming pattern of human‒animal cohabitation can affect the indoor air environment in the surrounding area, leading to chronic respiratory diseases in the occupants. Therefore, relevant government departments and farmers should enhance their awareness of bioaerosol risks and consider measures that may be taken to reduce them.

The study sought to examine how cultural background influence the academic performance of Agricultural Science students in senior secondary schools in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. A survey design was adopted for the study. Two hundred senior secondary two (SS2) Agricultural Science students were drawn by simple random sampling from four government owned schools in the council area. Three objectives and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Data were collected using constructed questionnaire. The instrument was validated by academic experts from the Department of Agricultural Education. A pilot study was conducted and a reliability coefficient of 0.78 was obtained using the Cronbach's alpha method. The data collected were analyzed using the independent ttest of analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Findings of this study revealed that all the factors considered in the study which include cultural belief, gender relation and parental involvement all had impact on student academic performance. It was recommended that teachers should help to relate cultural concepts in Agricultural Science to learners need and experience, government should develop a curriculum for use in integrating cultural concepts in its instruction and that parent's should assist in their background environment to support in teaching their wards at home to reinforce work done in school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Critics judge quality based upon subjective characteristics of wine. These judgments are converted by critics into quantitative scores, which allow for comparison of vintages. This paper uses high resolution discrete and continuous time-based weather estimates at both a local and regional level to determine the role of weather conditions on producing high quality Bordeaux vintages, as determined by critics scores. By using discrete-time weather variables across local AOCs, this study reveals climate-quality relationships across the whole year, including previously ignored season effects. By using continuous time weather variables, we reinforce the evidence for these local effects by finding higher quality wine is made in years with higher rainfall, warmer temperatures; and earlier, shorter seasons. We propose management impacts of our results and suggest that as the climate continues to change, the quality of Bordeaux wines may continue to improve.

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

Summary: Natural antisense transcripts (NATs) in model plants have been recognized as important regulators of gene expression under abiotic stresses. However, the functional roles of NATs in crops under low temperature are still unclear. Here, we identified 815 and 689 NATs from leaves of Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense under chilling stress. Among those, 224 NATs were identified as interspecific homologs between the two species. The correlation coefficients for expression of NATs and their cognate sense genes (CSG) were 0.43 and 0.37 in G. hirsutum and G. barbadense, respectively. Furthermore, expression of interspecific NATs and CSGs alike was highly consistent under chilling stress with correlation coefficients of 0.90–0.91. Four cold-associated NATs were selected for functional validation using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). Our results suggest that CAN1 engage in the molecular regulation of chilling stress by regulating SnRK2.8 expression. This highly conserved NAT have valuable potential for applications in breeding cold-tolerant cotton.

Summary: The toxicity of insecticides used in the field decreases gradually to sublethal concentrations over time. Therefore, it is necessary to study sublethal effects of pesticides for controlling population explosion. Panonychus citri is a global pest which control is based on insecticides. This study explores the stress responses of spirobudiclofen on the P. citri. Spirobudiclofen significantly inhibited survival and reproduction of P. citri, and the effects aggravated as concentration increased. The transcriptomes and metabolomes of spirobudiclofen-treated and control were compared to characterize spirobudiclofen molecular mechanism. Transcriptomics indicated stress induced by spirobudiclofen stimulated immune defense, antioxidative system, cuticle formation, and lipid metabolism, as deduced from RNA-seq analysis. Meanwhile, our study found that tolerance metabolism in P. citri was regulated by promoting the metabolism of glycerophospholipids, glycine, serine, and threonine. The results of this study can provide a basis for exploring the adaptation strategies of P. citri to spirobudiclofen stress.

Summary: Floods occur more frequently in the context of climate change; however, flood monitoring capacity has not been well established. Here, we used a synergic mapping framework to characterize summer floods in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain and the effects on croplands in 2020, from both flood extent and intensity perspectives. We found that the total flood extent was 4936 km2 from July to August, and for flood intensity, 1658, 1382, and 1896 km2 of areas experienced triple, double, and single floods. A total of 2282 km2 croplands (46% of the flooded area) were inundated mainly from Poyang and Dongting Lake Basins, containing a high ratio of moderate damage croplands (47%). The newly increased flooding extent in 2020 was 29% larger than the maximum ever-flooded extent in 2015–2019. This study is expected to provide a reference for rapid regional flood disaster assessment and serving mitigation.

[Purpose/Significance] Research on the demand and supply analysis of agricultural literature resources is of great significance to the collection construction of agricultural libraries, especially under the current new situation. The demand analysis of academic resources of agricultural science has always been a difficult task for agricultural special libraries because it covers a wide range of disciplines and involves the multiple cross and integrated applications of various disciplines with agriculture science. This paper innovates the methods of demand and supply analysis based on multi-level information organization and fine-grained data analysis, which would discover both the systematic demands and accurate demands of agricultural researchers, and help to adapt to the changes of agricultural science research paradigm. [Method/Process] This study took the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) as an example, collecting its published foreign language journals and the corresponding cited references, as well as its usage data of foreign language electronic journals databases. Then this paper used the methods of citation analysis, subject organization, etc. to analyze the institutional demand characteristics that include literature language, document type, publication years, disciplines distribution, covered subjects and the utilized database of foreign-language periodical resources. The full-text supply rate of foreign-language electronic journals has been calculated to evaluate the satisfaction and the ability of supplying collection resources. The literature comprehensive utilization index has also been calculated to reflect the literature utilization capacity of CAAS's affiliated institutes by the methods of correlation analysis and multiple correlation coefficient weighting. [Results/Conclusions] The results show that the demands of foreign-language journals of CAAS involve not only classical agricultural disciplines but also some emerging and interdisciplinary fields, and there are big gaps in the level of literature supply and utilization among its affiliated institutes. The construction of literature resource supply system of CAAS should strengthen the demand analysis, enrich the subscription mode of full-text resources, and expand the non-full-text resources. As for the agricultural special libraries, the demand and supply analysis of agricultural science literature resources should follow the development trends of agricultural disciplines, taking into account the systematic and prospective demands, and carry out accurate, thematic and knowledge-based demand analysis in the relevant subject areas. Users can also be encouraged to participate in library collection construction, and diversified demand feedback channels should be provided for them. At the same time, resource construction quality and service efficiency evaluation should also be brought to the forefront.

There is a paucity of literature on the impacts of gender and location on the psychological well-being of agricultural science academic staff. This condition necessitated the use of an ex-post facto study with a sample of 46 University of Nigerian Agricultural Science and Education Academic Staff. The psychological wellbeing scale (α = .84) was used to collect data, which was based on the scientific research paradigm and quantitative research approach. The mean and t-test statistics were used to analyze the data. It was revealed that while gender had no significant impact on the academic staff’s psychological wellbeing, location had a significant impact on the academic staff’s psychological wellbeing. As a result, it was recommended that the university authority should make necessary accommodations to create a working environment that promotes the psychological wellbeing of academic staff irrespective of their location.

Summary: In the last three decades, global production of oil palm has boomed, which has partly come at the expense of tropical rainforests. Recognizing this, many companies operating in the palm oil industry have committed to eliminate deforestation from their operations, often referred to as zero-deforestation commitments (ZDCs). Here, we estimate that if ZDCs are fully adopted and enforced across all sectors and geographies, the global extent of oil palm plantations may be 11 M ha or 40% smaller in 2030 than in a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario that assumes no compliance with ZDCs. As a result of such land-sparing effects, we estimate that 96 M ha of forests are saved from conversion, of which, 17% would otherwise have been converted (directly or indirectly) due to expanding oil palm plantations. Overall, these figures suggest that ZDCs have the potential to deliver major environmental benefits if they are fully adopted and enforced.

Summary: Ensuring global food security and environmental sustainability is dependent upon the contribution of the world’s hundred million smallholder farms, but the contributions of smallholder farms to global agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been understudied. We developed a localized agricultural life cycle assessment (LCA) database to calculate GHG emissions and made the first extensive assessment of the smallholder farms’ GHG emission reduction potentials by coupling crop and livestock production (CCLP), a redesign of current practices toward sustainable agriculture in China. CCLP can reduce the GHG emission intensity by 17.67%, with its own feed and manure returning to the field as an essential path. Scenario analysis verified that greater GHG emission reduction (28.09%–41.32%) will be achieved by restructuring CCLP. Therefore, this mixed farming is a mode with broader benefits to provide sustainable agricultural practices for reducing GHG emissions fairly.

Summary: Regenerative agriculture (RA) is gaining traction globally as an approach for meeting growing food demands while avoiding, or even remediating, the detrimental environmental consequences associated with conventional farming. Momentum is building for science to provide evidence for, or against, the putative ecosystem benefits of RA practices relative to conventional farming. In this perspective article, we advance the argument that consideration of the soil microbiome in RA research is crucial for disentangling the varied and complex relationships RA practices have with the biotic and abiotic environment, outline the expected changes in soil microbiomes under RA, and make recommendations for designing research that will answer the outstanding questions on the soil microbiome under RA. Ultimately, deeper insights into the role of microbial communities in RA soils will allow the development of biologically relevant monitoring tools which will support land managers in addressing the key environmental issues associated with agriculture.

Summary: Snakebite affects more than 1.8 million people annually. Factors explaining snakebite variability include farmers’ behaviors, snake ecology and climate. One unstudied issue is how farmers’ adaptation to novel climates affect their health. Here we examined potential impacts of adaptation on snakebite using individual-based simulations, focusing on strategies meant to counteract major crop yield decline because of changing rainfall in Sri Lanka. For rubber cropping, adaptation led to a 33% increase in snakebite incidence per farmer work hour because of work during risky months, but a 17% decrease in total annual snakebites because of decreased labor in plantations overall. Rice farming adaptation decreased snakebites by 16%, because of shifting labor towards safer months, whereas tea adaptation led to a general increase. These results indicate that adaptation could have both a positive and negative effect, potentially intensified by ENSO. Our research highlights the need for assessing adaptation strategies for potential health maladaptations.

Summary: We investigated a nature-based solution (NbS) via incorporating biocrust into alfalfa-maize intercropping system to test carbon sequestration in seriously eroded agricultural soils. Field investigation showed that the NbS (moss-dominated biocrust + intercropping) massively lowered surface soil erosion by 94.5% and soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) loss by 94.7 and 96.8% respectively, while promoting rainwater interception by 82.2% relative to bare land (CK). There generally existed positive interactions between biocrust and cropping in the integrated standing biodiversity system. Enhanced plant biomass input into soils substantially promoted soil fungal community diversity and abundance under NbS (p

[Purpose/Significance] Research on the demand and supply analysis of agricultural literature resources is of great significance to the collection construction of agricultural libraries, especially under the current new situation. The demand analysis of academic resources of agricultural science has always been a difficult task for agricultural special libraries because it covers a wide range of disciplines and involves the multiple cross and integrated applications of various disciplines with agriculture science. This paper innovates the methods of demand and supply analysis based on multi-level information organization and fine-grained data analysis, which would discover both the systematic demands and accurate demands of agricultural researchers, and help to adaptto the changes of agricultural science research paradigm. [Method/Process] This study took the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) as an example, collecting its published foreign language journals and the corresponding cited references, as well as its usage data of foreign language electronic journals databases. Then this paper used the methods of citation analysis, subject organization, etc. to analyze the institutional demand characteristics that include literature language, document type, publication years, disciplines distribution, covered subjects and the utilized database of foreign-language periodical resources. The full-text supply rate of foreign-language electronic journals has been calculated to evaluate the satisfaction and the ability of supplying collection resources. The literature comprehensive utilization index has also been calculated to reflect the literature utilization capacity of CAAS's affiliated institutes by the methods of correlation analysis and multiple correlation coefficient weighting. [Results/Conclusions] The results show that the demands of foreign-language journals of CAAS involve not only classical agricultural disciplinesbutalsosome emerging and interdisciplinaryfields, and there are biggaps inthe level of literature supply and utilization among its affiliated institutes. The construction of literature resource supply system of CAAS should strengthen the demand analysis, enrich the subscription mode of full-text resources, and expand the non-full-text resources. As for the agricultural special libraries, the demand and supply analysis of agricultural science literature resources should follow the development trends of agricultural disciplines, taking into account the systematic and prospective demands, and carry out accurate, thematic and knowledge-based demand analysis in the relevant subject areas. Users can also be encouraged to participate in library collection construction, and diversified demand feedback channels should be provided for them. At the same time, resource construction quality and service efficiency evaluation should also be brought to the forefront. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to establish whether perceived insecurity of the school environment can predict the achievement of senior high school students in Agricultural Science in Ekiti State. It also sought to find out whether gender has any influence on perceived insecurity of school environment as a predictor of achievement in senior secondary school students in Agricultural Science Education. There are two research questions and null hypotheses which were formulated to serve as a guide to the study. The findings of this study showed that the Perceived Precariousness of the school surrounding significantly predicts senior secondary school students' achievement in agricultural science education while gender does not significantly influence the achievement of students in agricultural science in a perceived precariousness situation. The conclusion of the study was that secondary school students should be educated on the importance of perceived Precariousness in the school community as a predictor of their achievement in agricultural science education. It was recommended that strong awareness or orientation should be given to students on the significance of perceived Precariousness in the school community as a predictor of achievement in agricultural science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the competitiveness of the agro-industrial complex in the context of an imbalance in the global food market and a tough sanctions policy can be achieved by stimulating the innovation and investment activities of regional and sectoral agricultural systems. The purpose of this article is to improve approaches to the optimal distribution of investments in agriculture and to develop tools to stimulate innovation and investment activity. It has been empirically proven that in Russia the priority areas for the use of investment resources are significantly underfunded, which is a blocking factor in increasing the competitiveness and economic growth of the agricultural sector of the economy. New investment mechanisms aimed at further improvement of regional and federal investment policy have been studied. Measures to stimulate innovation and investment activity are proposed and a pool of indicators for assessing indirect effects is substantiated. A mechanism for the development of the agroindustrial complex was developed on the basis of systemic mediation with the substantiation of the functions of an innovative mediator as a link between the institutional actors of the organization. This mechanism makes it possible to increase the efficiency of institutional interaction between the stakeholders of the innovation process, ensures planning and coordination of fundamental and applied research at the federal and regional levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Various global land use/land cover (LULC) products have been developed to drive land-relevant climate and hydrological models for environmental assessments. However, systematic studies remain scarce that assess the uncertainties of using these products. By using a total of 16 commonly used global LULC products, we find a logarithm law of upscaling with the spatial resolution. The law reveals spatial details of urban features will be majorly distorted when using LULC products with coarser resolutions. A tipping point of the law around the 30-m resolution was identified by additional analysis of the 1-m and 10-m local land use dataset. Through the example of assessing crop production loss, we further find that most of these products will yield a significant underestimation of crop production losses, globally and locally. We conclude that the underestimated urban land rooted in most of these products would cause vital impacts on global change analyses and modeling.

Summary: There is now a dire demand for negative emissions technologies (which sequester CO2 from the atmosphere) that can be rapidly deployed, are scalable, and are demonstrably safe and effective. Enhanced weathering of silicate minerals has demonstrated a significant potential for CO2 capture and sequestration by the formation of pedogenic carbonates in soils, subsoils, and sediments. This technique has also been shown to deliver fruitful results in terms of improving soil health, and in turn plant health, through remineralization. The silicate minerals that possess the highest weathering rates (e.g., wollastonite), are relatively rare in nature, whereas the abundant ones (e.g., anorthite and forsterite) have a slower pace of weathering, especially in colder and drier climates such as found in the extensive agricultural lands of Western Canada and the Western United States. Herein, we offer a perspective on the opportunities for computational studies targeting atomic-scale interaction of CO2 with silicates and synthesis of fast-weathering silicates (such as larnite and bredigite), whose composition can be tuned to also support soil fertilization and remineralization, and whose production must be integrated with green and carbon-neutral technologies to ensure net-negative life cycle emissions.

Summary: Pathways to eradicate global hunger while bending the curve of biodiversity loss unanimously suggest changing to less energy-rich diets, closing yield gaps through agroecological principles, adopting modern breeding technologies to foster stress resilience and yields, as well as minimizing harvest losses and food waste. Against the background of a brief history of global agriculture, we review the available evidence on how the global food system might look given a global temperature increase by 3°. We show that a moderate gain in the area suitable for agriculture is confronted with substantial yield losses through strains on crop physiology, multitrophic interactions, and more frequent extreme events. Self-amplifying feedback are unresolved and might lead to further losses. In light of these uncertainties, we see that complexity is underestimated and more systemic research is needed. Efficiency gains in agriculture, albeit indispensable, will not be enough to achieve food security under severe climate change.

Summary: Drought severely affects global food production. Sorghum is a typical drought-resistant model crop. Based on RNA-seq data for Sorghum with multiple time points and the gray correlation coefficient, this paper firstly selects candidate genes via mean variance test and constructs weighted gene differential co-expression networks (WGDCNs); then, based on guilt-by-rewiring principle, the WGDCNs and the hidden Markov random field model, drought-responsive crucial genes are identified for five developmental stages respectively. Enrichment and sequence alignment analysis reveal that the screened genes may play critical functional roles in drought responsiveness. A multilayer differential co-expression network for the screened genes reveals that Sorghum is very sensitive to pre-flowering drought. Furthermore, a crucial gene regulatory module is established, which regulates drought responsiveness via plant hormone signal transduction, MAPK cascades, and transcriptional regulations. The proposed method can well excavate crucial genes through RNA-seq data, which have implications in breeding of new varieties with improved drought tolerance.

This article examines the conflicts over knowledge, expertise, spiritual promises, and agroecological realities that collided in the construction of an early-1900s rural water conservation district in Cache Valley, Utah. Out of these tensions emerged a field-based view of conservation that oscillated between hydrologists' teachings of rational management through irrigation and local dry farming practices that seemed to acknowledge the valley's limitations-- allin a futile effort to make the land faithful to an agri-spiritual aesthetic that persuaded scientists and farmers alike to rebuild District No. 1 over and over again. From debates about whose expertise to follow to economic devastation from illicit dealings of dubious financiers and unruly environmental conditions, the saga of Cache County Water Conservation District No. 1 reveals an irrigated rural western landscape that was as unpredictable as it was inescapable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Globally, phenolic contaminants have posed a considerable threat to agro-ecosystems. Exolaccase-boosted humification may be an admirable strategy for phenolic detoxification by creating multifunctional humic-like products (H-LPs). Nonetheless, the potential applicability of the formed H-LPs in agricultural production is still overlooked. This review describes immobilized exolaccase-enabled humification in eliminating phenolic pollutants and producing artificial H-LPs. The similarities and differences between artificial H-LPs and natural humic substances (HSs) in chemical properties are compared. In particular, the agronomic effects of these reproducible artificial H-LPs are highlighted. On the basis of the above summary, the granulation process is employed to prepare granular humic-like organic fertilizers, which can be applied to field crops by mechanical side-deep fertilization. Finally, the challenges and perspectives of exolaccase-boosted humification for practical applications are also discussed. This review is a first step toward a more profound understanding of phenolic detoxification, soil improvement, and agricultural production by exolaccase-boosted humification.