Pigeon pea-mediated soil microbial shifts improve agroecosystem multifunctionality in long-term maize-palisade grass intercropping.

Background: Intercropping systems enhance agricultural sustainability by promoting ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF). This study examined the impact of adding pigeon pea (M + PG + PP) into a maize-palisade grass (M + PG) intercropping system under a no-till system (NTS) on soil microbial communities and ecosystem services. After five consecutive growing seasons, bulk soil samples from a soybean-based crop-livestock system were analyzed using metagenomics.

Combining plant growth-promoting bacteria as a tool to improve the metabolism and productivity of sugarcane.

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a globally important crop, and strategies to minimize the negative impacts of its cultivation and enhance its development are highly relevant. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) can sustainably foster plant growth in agricultural systems and mitigate adverse effects of stress on plants.

Can foliar application of soluble monoammonium phosphate effectively alleviate herbicide-induced oxidative stress in key crops?

Phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) directly impact final crop productivity by playing essential roles in photosynthesis, ATP formation, carbon assimilation, cell division, and transport. Compared with nutrient application to soil, the nutrients are applied directly to leaves provides a faster response because the nutrients enter plant metabolism more quickly. Foliar fertilization with nutritional supplements can intend to increase crop yields, and little is known about its ability to reduce oxidative stress.

Diverse bacterial consortia: key drivers of rhizosoil fertility modulating microbiome functions, plant physiology, nutrition, and soybean grain yield.

Soybean cultivation in tropical regions relies on symbioses with nitrogen-fixing Bradyrhizobium and plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPBs), reducing environmental impacts of N fertilizers and pesticides. We evaluate the effects of soybean inoculation with different bacterial consortia combined with PGPBs or microbial secondary metabolites (MSMs) on rhizosoil chemistry, plant physiology, plant nutrition, grain yield, and rhizosphere microbial functions under field conditions over three growing seasons with four treatments: standard inoculation of Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens consortium (SI); SI plus foliar spraying with Bacillus subtilis (SI + Bs); SI plus foliar spraying with Azospirillum brasilense (SI + Az); and SI plus seed application of MSMs enriched in lipo-chitooligosaccharides extracted from B. diazoefficiens and Rhizobium tropici (SI + MSM).

Liming enhances longevity of wheat seeds produced in acid soils.

The environment where plants grow, such as acidic soils, interferes with the nutrient concentration and physiological quality of seeds. This hypothesis was tested using wheat seeds as a model crop, grown in a tropical soil with and without lime application for twelve years. Here we show that lime provides remarkable enhancements in soil chemistry and seed composition, without altering the seed's germination and vigor.

Quality of cowpea seeds: A food security strategy in the tropical environment.

What is the relation between seed quality and food security? Here we built a summary diagram that links the development stages of the seeds with their potential of providing grain yield. This idea was tested using cowpea as a model crop, grown in a tropical environment. Initially, seed quality attributes such as water content, dry weight, germination, vigor, and longevity were characterized during seed development.

Inoculation Improves Nutrient Uptake and Physiological Activity in Sugarcane under Drought Stress.

Sugarcane ( spp.) is one of the most important crops in the world. Throughout the sugarcane's growth stages, periods of drought are common, causing detrimental effects on plant growth.

Dynamics of Macronutrient Uptake and Removal by Modern Peanut Cultivars.

The productive potential of new peanut cultivars has increased over the years in relation to old cultivars, especially when compared with ones with upright growth habit. Thus, the requirement for macronutrients for these new cultivars may also have increased, making the existing fertilizer recommendation tables obsolete, thus increasing the need for further studies measuring the real macronutrient requirements of these new peanut cultivars. Our study aimed to evaluate the growth patterns and the macronutrient absorption rate throughout the biological cycle of three modern runner peanut cultivars, as well as the potential for producing dry matter, pods, and kernels, and their respective macronutrient accumulations.

Long-Term Lime and Phosphogypsum Amended-Soils Alleviates the Field Drought Effects on Carbon and Antioxidative Metabolism of Maize by Improving Soil Fertility and Root Growth.

Long-term surface application of lime (L) and/or phosphogypsum (PG) in no-till (NT) systems can improve plant growth and physiological and biochemical processes. Although numerous studies have examined the effects of L on biomass and plant growth, comprehensive evaluations of the effects of this practice on net CO assimilation, antioxidant enzyme activities and sucrose synthesis are lacking. Accordingly, this study examined the effects of long-term surface applications of L and PG on soil fertility and the resulting impacts on root growth, plant nutrition, photosynthesis, carbon and antioxidant metabolism, and grain yield (GY) of maize established in a dry winter region.

Inoculation as a Tool for Attenuating Drought Stress in Sugarcane.

Drought stress is an important concern worldwide which reduces crop yield and quality. To alleviate this problem, has been used as a plant growth-promoting fungus capable of inducing plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here, we examined the effect of inoculation on sugarcane plant above and belowground development under drought stress and investigated the role of this fungus on inducing tolerance to drought at physiological and biochemical levels.

Magnesium Foliar Supplementation Increases Grain Yield of Soybean and Maize by Improving Photosynthetic Carbon Metabolism and Antioxidant Metabolism.

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to explore whether supplementary magnesium (Mg) foliar fertilization to soybean and maize crops established in a soil without Mg limitation can improve the gas exchange and Rubisco activity, as well as improve antioxidant metabolism, converting higher plant metabolism into grain yield. (2) Methods: Here, we tested foliar Mg supplementation in soybean followed by maize. Nutritional status of plants, photosynthesis, PEPcase and Rubisco activity, sugar concentration on leaves, oxidative stress, antioxidant metabolism, and finally the crops grain yields were determined.