Water quality models are important in predicting the changes in surface water quality for environmental management. A range of water quality models are wildly used, but every model has its advantages and limitations for specific situations. The aim of this review is to provide a guide to researcher for selecting a suitable water quality model. Eight well known water quality models were selected for this review: SWAT, WASP, QUALs, MIKE 11, HSPF, CE-QUAL-W2, ELCOM-CAEDYM and EFDC. Each model is described according to its intended use, development, simulation elements, basic principles and applicability (e.g., for rivers, lakes, and reservoirs and estuaries). Currently, the most important trends for future model development are: (1) combination models—individual models cannot completely solve the complex situations so combined models are needed to obtain the most appropriate results, (2) application of artificial intelligence and mechanistic models combined with non-mechanistic models will provide more accurate results because of the realistic parameters derived from non-mechanistic models, and (3) integration with remote sensing, geographical information and global position systems (3S) —3S can solve problems requiring large amounts of data.

This article discusses approaches to simultaneously increase grain yield and resource use efficiency in rice. Breeding nitrogen efficient cultivars without sacrificing rice yield potential, improving grain fill in later-flowering inferior spikelets and enhancing harvest index are three important approaches to achieving the dual goal of high grain yield and high resource use efficiency. Deeper root distribution and higher leaf photosynthetic N use efficiency at lower N rates could be used as selection criteria to develop N-efficient cultivars. Enhancing sink activity through increasing sugar-spikelet ratio at the heading time and enhancing the conversion efficiency from sucrose to starch though increasing the ratio of abscisic acid to ethylene in grains during grain fill could effectively improve grain fill in inferior spikelets. Several practices, such as post-anthesis controlled soil drying, an alternate wetting and moderate soil drying regime during the whole growing season, and non-flooded straw mulching cultivation, could substantially increase grain yield and water use efficiency, mainly via enhanced remobilization of stored carbon from vegetative tissues to grains and improved harvest index. Further research is needed to understand synergistic interaction between water and N on crop and soil and the mechanism underlying high resource use efficiency in high-yielding rice.

• Monitoring data of>5000 dairy farms collected and examined in uniform manner.

Many grassland-based dairy farms are intensifying production, i.e., produce more milk per ha of land in response to the increasing demand for milk (by about 2% per year) in a globalized market. However, intensive dairy farming has been implicated for its resources use, ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions, and eutrophication impacts. This paper addresses the question of how the intensity of dairy production relates to N and P surpluses and use efficiencies on farms subjected to agri-environmental regulations. Detailed monitoring data were analyzed from 2858 grassland-based dairy farms in The Netherlands for the year 2015. The farms produced on average 925 Mg·yr⁻¹ milk. Milk production per ha ranged from<10 to>30 Mg·ha⁻¹·yr⁻¹. Purchased feed and manure export strongly increased with the level of intensification. Surpluses of N and P at farm level remained constant and ammonia emissions per kg milk decreased with the level of intensification. In conclusion, N and P surpluses did not differ much among dairy farms greatly differing in intensity due to legal N and P application limits and obligatory export of manure surpluses to other farms. Further, N and P use efficiencies also did not differ among dairy farms differing in intensity provided the externalization of feed production was accounted for. This paper provides lessons for proper monitoring and control of N and P cycling in dairy farming.

• China is now the largest egg production country worldwide

Eggs are one of the most nutritious and affordable animal products worldwide. From 1985, egg production in China has retained the leading place in the world. A total of 33 Mt of eggs were produced in 2019 representing ˃ 40% of the world total production. Egg production in China is characterized by diversity in several aspects, including layer breeds, products and production systems. New breeds and synthetic lines are developed to improve the genetic potentials of egg production and feed efficiency of layers. In the past, layer farms were run mostly by small households with 100 to 1000 layers per farm. Over the past decades, egg production in China has developed toward standardization and expansion of production systems, and many of these modern intensive farms raise millions of layers. Although the Chinese egg products maintain strong competitiveness over other animal products and imported egg products, the egg industry will grow at a slower pace compared to the past. Chinese consumers are more concerned about the quality and safety of eggs and egg products, as well as the environmental issues related to animal production, which presents challenges for the Chinese egg industry.

Foxtail millet is a minor yet important crop in some areas of the world, particularly northern China. It has strong adaptability to abiotic stresses, especially drought, and poor soil. It also has high nutritional value. Foxtail millet is rich in essential amino acids, fatty acids and minerals, and is considered to be one of the most digestible and non-allergenic grains available and has significant importance for human health. Given foxtail millet&rsquo;s ability to adapt to abiotic stresses associated with climate change, it is more important than ever to develop breeding strategies that facilitate the increasing demand for high quality grain that better satisfies consumers. Here we review research on foxtail millet quality evaluation, appearance, cooking and eating quality at the phenotypic level. We review analysis of the main nutrients in foxtail millet, their relationships and the biochemical and genetic factors affecting their accumulation. In addition, we review past progress in breeding this regionally important crop, outline current status of breeding of foxtail millet, and make suggestions to improve grain quality.

Model organisms such as Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and rice (Oryza sativa) have proven essential for efficient scientific discovery and development of new methods. With the diversity of plant lineages, some important processes such as C₄ photosynthesis are not found in either Arabidopsis or rice, so new model species are needed. Due to their small diploid genomes, short life cycles, self-pollination, small adult statures and prolific seed production, domesticated foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and its wild ancestor, green foxtail (S. viridis), have recently been proposed as novel model species for functional genomics of the Panicoideae, especially for study of C₄ photosynthesis. This review outlines the development of these species as model organisms, and discusses current challenges and future potential of a Setaria model.

• China is the largest producer of pomelo globally.

Pomelo is a member of the genus Citrus that is a key contributor to the breeding of modern citrus cultivars. China is the largest producer of pomelo and one of the top five pomelo exporting countries. Pomelos from Thailand are also well-known for their excellent quality and flavor and are ranked in the top ten export countries. This review introduces pomelo planting locations and conditions in China and Thailand. The characteristics and qualities of some commercial pomelo cultivars in China and Thailand are summarized to introduce them to international consumers and to document their similarities and dissimilarities. Data on bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity are also included for most Chinese and Thai pomelos to highlight how they differ in this aspect because consumers are increasingly interested in healthier foods. In addition, the sensory perception in terms of aroma, flavor, texture and taste attributes and consumer perspective and preferences are discussed.

• Manure utilization is hindered by separate specialist crop and livestock production systems.

Livestock numbers in China have more than tripled between 1980 and 2017. The increase in the number of intensive livestock production systems has created the challenges of decoupled crop and livestock systems, low utilization of manures in croplands, and subsequent environmental pollution. Correspondingly, the government has enacted a series of policies and regulations to increase the sustainability of livestock production. This paper reviews the objectives of these policies and regulations and their impacts on manure management. Since 2017 there have been two policy guides to speed up the appropriate use of manures, three action plans for increasing manure recycling, and one technical guide to calculate nutrient balances. Requirements of manure pollution control and recycling for improved environmental performance of livestock production systems were included in three revised environmental laws. Most recent survey data indicate that the utilization of livestock manures was 70% in 2017, including that used as fertilizer and/or for production of energy. The targets for manure utilization are 75% in 2020 and 90% in 2035. To achieve these targets and promote ‘green livestock production’, additional changes are needed including the use of third-party enterprises that facilitate manure exchange between farms and a more integrated manure nutrient management approach.

The challenges of how to simultaneously ensure global food security, improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and protect the environment have received increasing attention. However, the dominant agricultural paradigm still considers high yield and reducing environmental impacts to be in conflict with one another. Here we examine a Three-Step-Strategy of past 20 years to produce more with less in China, showing that tremendous progress has been made to reduce N fertilizer input without sacrificing crop yield. The first step is to use technology for in-season root-zone nutrient management to significantly increase NUE. The second is to use technology for integrated nutrient management to increase both yield and NUE by 15%–20%. The third step is to use technology for integrated soil-crop system management to increase yield and NUE by 30%–50% simultaneously. These advances can thus be considered an effective agricultural paradigm to ensure food security, while increasing NUE and improving environmental quality.

An effectively mild solvent solution containing NaOH/PEG was employed to dissolve the cellulose extracted from the wheat straw. With further combined regeneration process and freeze-drying, the cellulose aerogel was successfully obtained. Scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction technique, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller were used to characterize this cellulose aerogel of low density (about 40 mg·cm^-3) and three-dimensional network with large specific surface area (about 101 m²·g^-1). Additionally, with a hydrophobic modification by trimethylchlorosilane, the cellulose aerogel showed a strong absorptive capacity for oil and dye solutions.

Super hybrid rice breeding is a new breeding method combining semi-dwarf breeding and heterosis breeding using germplasm and gene-environment interactions. This paper reviews the breeding strategies of super hybrid rice breeding in China, focusing on the utilization of heterosis of indica and japonica subspecies, construction of ideal plant architecture and pyramiding of disease resistant genes in restorer lines. To develop super hybrid rice, considerable effort should be made to explore genes related with high yield, good quality, resistance to pests and diseases, tolerance to stresses. Molecular breeding methods in combination with crossing techniques should be adopted in super hybrid rice breeding.

This paper explores the effect of varying agricultural management practices on different water efficiency indicators: irrigation efficiency (IE), crop water use efficiency (WUE), and green and blue water footprint (WF). We take winter wheat in an experimental field in Northern China as a case study and consider a dry, average and wet year. We conducted 24 modeling experiments with the AquaCrop model, for all possible combinations of four irrigation techniques, two irrigation strategies and three mulching methods. Results show that deficit irrigation most effectively improved blue water use, by increasing IE (by 5%) and reducing blue WF (by 38%), however with an average 9% yield reduction. Organic or synthetic mulching practices improved WUE (by 4% and 10%, respectively) and reduced blue WF (by 8% and 17%, respectively), with the same yield level. Drip and subsurface drip irrigation improved IE and WUE, but drip irrigation had a relatively large blue WF. Improvements in one water efficiency indicator may cause a decline in another. In particular, WUE can be improved by more irrigation at the cost of the blue WF. Furthermore, increasing IE, for instance by installing drip irrigation, does not necessarily reduce the blue WF.

Grasslands are crucial parts of the terrestrial ecosystem, with an extremely high differentiation of productivity and diversity across spatial scales and land use patterns. The practices employed to manage grassland, such as grazing, haymaking, fertilization or reseeding, can improve the grassland condition. This study focuses on the changes in productivity and diversity and the relationship between them as affected by management practices. Productivity and diversity have unequivocally been altered in response to different management practices. When grazing intensity of a typical steppe increased from 1.5 to 9 sheep per hectare, both productivity and diversity declined. Higher grazing intensity (6 to 9 sheep per hectare) accelerated loss of diversity because of lower productivity. Productivity was significantly improved but diversity was lost by fertilizing. N fertilization also reduced the sensitivity of diversity to productivity. A similar response was found in mown grassland with increased productivity and diversity but their relationship was negatively affected. Mowing also slowed down the decline in diversity as productivity increased. Reseeding purple-flowered alfalfa led to an increased diversity, while yellow-flowered alfalfa increased productivity significantly. The negative productivity-diversity relationship was transformed to a positive one by reseeding alfalfa. These results enhance understanding of how productivity, diversity and their relationships change in response to altered grassland management practices, and support an integrated approach for improving both productivity and diversity.

Plants are frequently affected by pathogen infections. To effectively defend against such infections, two major modes of innate immunity have evolved in plants; pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immunity and effector-triggered immunity. Although the molecular components as well as the corresponding pathways involved in these two processes have been identified, many aspects of the molecular mechanisms of the plant immune system remain elusive. Recently, the rapid development of omics techniques (e.g., genomics, proteomics and transcriptomics) has provided a great opportunity to explore plant–pathogen interactions from a systems perspective and studies on protein–protein interactions (PPIs) between plants and pathogens have been carried out and characterized at the network level. In this review, we introduce experimental and computational identification methods of PPIs, popular PPI network analysis approaches, and existing bioinformatics resources/tools related to PPIs. Then, we focus on reviewing the progress in genome-wide PPI networks related to plant–pathogen interactions, including pathogen-centric PPI networks, plant-centric PPI networks and interspecies PPI networks between plants and pathogens. We anticipate genome-wide PPI network analysis will provide a clearer understanding of plant–pathogen interactions and will offer some new opportunities for crop protection and improvement.

Poor soil fertility due to low nutrient inputs is a major factor limiting grain production in Kenya. Increasing soil fertility for crop productivity in China has implications for food security in Kenya. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the historical patterns of grain production, nutrient inputs, soil fertility and policies in Quzhou, a typical agricultural county on the North China Plain, and to compare grain production in Quzhou County and Kenya to identify a potential approach for increasing grain production in Kenya. Grain yields in Quzhou increased from 1 to 3 t·ha⁻¹ between 1961 and 1987 by increasing manure application accompanied by small amounts of chemical fertilizer after soil desalinization. There was a further increase from 3 to 5 t·ha⁻¹ up to 1996 which can be mainly attributed to chemical fertilizer use and policy support. Hence, a beneficial cycle between soil fertility and plant growth in Quzhou grain production was developed and strengthened. In contrast, there was only a slight increase in grain yields in Kenya over this period, resulting from low soil fertility with limited external nutrient inputs, a consequence of poor socioeconomic development. It is suggested that grain yields in Kenya would likely be boosted by the development of a self-reinforcing cycling between soil fertility and plant growth with manure and chemical fertilizer use if supported by policy and socioeconomic development.

Realizing sustainable development has become a global priority. This holds, in particular, for agriculture. Recently, the United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Nineteenth National People’s Congress has delivered a national strategy for sustainable development in China—realizing green development. The overall objective of Agriculture Green Development (AGD) is to coordinate “green” with “development” to realize the transformation of current agriculture with high resource consumption and high environmental costs into a green agriculture and countryside with high productivity, high resource use efficiency and low environmental impact. This is a formidable task, requiring joint efforts of government, farmers, industry, educators and researchers. The innovative concept for AGD will focus on reconstructing the whole crop-animal production and food production-consumption system, with the emphasis on high thresholds for environmental standards and food quality as well as enhanced human well-being. This paper addresses the significance, challenges, framework, pathways and potential solutions for realizing AGD in China, and highlights the potential changes that will lead to a more sustainable agriculture in the future. Proposals include interdisciplinary innovations, whole food chain improvement and regional solutions. The implementation of AGD in China will provide important implications for the countries in developmental transition, and contribute to global sustainable development.

• Degree of integration of crop and livestock was insufficient on mixed smallholdings.

The proportion of industrial livestock in China has increased over the past 30 years, which increases animal performance but causes the decoupling of crop and livestock production. Here, we aimed to quantify nutrient flows, nutrient use efficiency, and nutrient losses in different livestock systems in the North China Plain based on the NUFER-farm model. Activity data were collected by face-to-face surveys on pig and dairy (41 livestock farms) during 2016–2018. The two systems included industrial farms and mixed smallholdings. In mixed smallholdings, 4.0% and 9.6% of pig and dairy feed dry matter (DM) were derived from household farmland, but 4.8% and 9.3% of manure DM recycled to household farmland. Nutrient use efficiency in industrial farms was higher than in mixed smallholdings at animal level, herd level, and system level. To produce 1 kg N and P in animal products, nutrient losses in industrial pig farms (2.0 kg N and 1.3 kg P) were lower than in mixed pig smallholdings, nutrient losses in industrial dairy farms (2.7 kg N and 2.2 kg P) were slightly higher than in mixed dairy smallholdings. Liquid manure discharge in industrial farms was the main losses pathway in contrast to mixed smallholdings. This study suggests that feed localization can reduce nutrient surpluses at the district level. It is necessary to improve manure management and increase the degree of integrated crop-livestock in smallholdings. In industrial farms, it is desirable to increase the liquid manure recycling ratio through cooperating livestock and crop production at the district level.

● Simultaneous H₂S and CO₂ removal from biogas is studied.

Upgrading biogas into biomethane not only improves the biogas utilization as vehicle fuel or natural gas substitute, but also reduces the greenhouse gases emissions. Considering the principle of engineering green energy process, the renewable aqueous ammonia (RAA) solution obtained from biogas slurry was used to remove H₂S and CO₂ simultaneously in the hollow fiber membrane contactor. RAA was mimicked in this study using the ammonia aqueous solution mixed with some typical impurities including ethanol, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid and NH₄HCO₃. Compared with the typical physical absorption (i.e., pure water) removing 48% of H₂S from biogas, RAA with 0.1 mol·L⁻¹ NH₃ could remove 97% of H₂S. Increasing the NH₃ concentration from 0.1 to 0.5 mol·L⁻¹ could elevate the CO₂ absorption flux from 0.97 to 1.72 mol·m⁻²·h⁻¹ by 77.3%. Among the impurities contained in RAA, ethanol has a less impact on CO₂ absorption, while other impurities like CO₂ and acetic acid have significant negative impacts on CO₂ absorption. Fortunately, the impurities have a less influence on H₂S removal efficiency, with more than 98% of H₂S could be removed by RAA. Also, the influences of operating parameters on acid gases removal were investigated to provide some engineering suggestions.

China's food security has a great influence on the world, and has always been the top priority in China. In recent years, as the concept of food security is evolving into one of nutrition security and the importance of food diversity is increasing, research based on nutrition security and broad food systems are increasingly needed in today’s China. Thus, not only grain for human consumption, but also animal foods have been integrated into the Food Equivalent, which is used to analyze China’s current agriculture system and reveal the water resource distribution. The results indicated that the average animal food consumption has risen by 78.6%, and now China’s daily supply of animal food per capita has reached about 50% of that in the USA and 80% of that in the South Korea. So there exist an obvious disparity in animal food supply between China and these two countries. It is impossible for the China’s current agricultural system to achieve the level in the USA. Under China’s current agricultural system, the consumption proportion of feed grain had surpassed the consumption of food grain, increased sharply from 33% in 1992 to 67% in 2011. However, the growth potential of total grain output is approaching an upper limit, so the continued growth of feed grain demand exerts great pressure on the China’s food supply. The discordance of the spatial distribution of water resource and virtual water revealed that China’s current agriculture system had a low efficiency in being able to achieve food and nutrition security. China’s current “grain farming” cannot meet the demand of increasing nutrition and appropriate resource utilization. The implementation of grassland agriculture appears feasible and necessary for saving feed grain, providing a large number of high-quality animal foods and appropriate water resource utilization.

As virulence-determining genes, RR1 and RR2 encode the small subunit and large subunit of viral ribonucleotide reductase (RR) in pseudorabies virus which have been extensively studied in mice. However, their role in pigs has not been adequately investigated. In this study, we deleted RR1 and RR2 genes based on a TK/gE/gI triple gene-deleted pseudorabies virus and tested its efficacy in pigs as a vaccine candidate. The rescued virus showed similar growth properties and plaque size in vitro as its parent strain. In an animal study, the virus could elicit humoral immune responses shown by generation of gB-specific antibodies and virus neutralizing antibodies. However, vaccination could not provide protection against virulent pseudorabies virus challenge since vaccinated pigs showed clinical pseudorabies-specific syndromes. The deficiency in protection may due to the generation of late and low levels of gB antibodies and virus neutralizing antibodies.

● A composite N management index is proposed to measure agriculture sustainability.

To represent the sustainability of nitrogen management in the Sustainable Development Goals indicator framework, this paper proposes a sustainable nitrogen management index (SNMI). This index combines the performance in N crop yield and N use efficiency (NUE), thereby accounting for the need for both food production and environmental protection. Applying SNMI to countries around the world, the results showed improvement in the overall sustainability of crop N management over the past four decades, but this improvement has been mainly achieved by crop yield increase, while global NUE has improved only slightly. SNMI values vary largely among countries, and this variation has increased since the 1970s, implying different levels of success, even failure, in improving N management for countries around the world. In the standard SNMI assessment, the reference NUE was defined as 1.0 (considered an ideal NUE) and the reference yield was defined as 90 kg·ha⁻¹·yr⁻¹ N (considering a globally averaged yield target for meeting food demand in 2050). A sensitivity test that replaced the reference NUE of 1.0 with more realistic NUE targets of 0.8 or 0.9 showed overall reduction in SNMI values (i.e., improved performance), but little change in the ranking among countries. In another test that replaced the universal reference yield with region-specific attainable yield, SNMI values declined (i.e., improved performance) for most countries in Africa and West Asia, whereas they increased for many countries in Europe and South America. The index can be improved by further investigation of approaches for setting region-specific yield targets and high-quality data on crop yield potentials. Overall, SNMI offers promise for a simple and transparent approach to assess progress of countries toward sustainable N management with a single indicator.

A total of 587 individuals from 12 indigenous chicken breeds from South China and two commercial breeds were genotyped for 26 microsatellites to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure. All microsatellites were found to be polymorphic. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 5 to 36, with an average of 12.10 ± 7.00 (SE). All breeds, except White Recessive Rock, had high allelic polymorphism (>0.5). Higher genetic diversity was revealed in the indigenous chicken breeds rather than in the commercial breeds. Potential introgression from the commercial breeds into the indigenous chickens was also detected. The population structure of these indigenous chicken breeds could be explained by their geographical distribution, which suggested the presence of independent history of breed formation. Data generated in this study will provide valuable information to the conservation for indigenous chicken breeds in future.

• NZ dairy farming systems are based on year-round grazing of perennial pasture (ryegrass/white clover).

This paper provides an overview of the range of dairy pasture grazing systems used in New Zealand (NZ), the changes with increased inputs over time and associated key environmental effects including nitrogen (N) leaching and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. NZ dairy farming systems are based on year-round grazing and seasonal milk production on perennial ryegrass/clover pasture where cows are rotationally grazed in paddocks. There was an increase in stocking rate on NZ dairy farms from 2.62 cows ha⁻¹ in 2000/2001 to 2.84 cows ha⁻¹ in 2015/2016. During the same period annual milk solids production increased from 315 to 378 kg·yr⁻¹ per cow. This performance has coincided with an increase in N fertilizer use (by ~ 30%) and a twofold increase in externally-sourced feeds. Externally-sourced feeds with a low protein concentration (e.g., maize silage) can increase the efficiency of N utilization and potentially reduce N losses per unit of production. Off-paddock facilities (such as standoff or feed pads) are often used to restrict grazing during very wet winter conditions. A systems analysis of contrasting dairy farms in Waikato (largest NZ dairying region) indicates that the increased input would result in an increase in per-cow milk production but little change in efficiency of milk production from a total land use perspective. This analysis also shows that the increased inputs caused an 11% decrease in N footprint (i.e., N emissions per unit of milk production) and a 2% increase in C footprint (i.e., greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of milk production).

The value chain extension strategy of Sasakawa Africa Association focuses on improving the capacity of national agricultural extension systems and follows various thematic areas along the value chain to address key challenges accountable for low income households and poverty in Africa. Farmer learning platform is a model designed to increase crop productivity and encompasses demonstration plots where technological packages demonstrated significantly outperformed other technology plots in crop productivity and average profit margins. Enterprise-oriented production, postharvest and trading centers are value adding models designed to improve the effectiveness of extension and adoption of postharvest and agricultural processing technologies by producers. The use of the above along with necessary capacity building has facilitated the development of profitable business linkages of smallholder farmers with financial institutions and reliable market opportunities. The community association trader-trainer model is a market-oriented business approach applied in combination with other extension models. In 2018, 297 community-based commodity association trader-trainers were mobilized and capacitated to improve farmer group dynamics and developed collective input and output access and cluster aggregation centers at community level where various agricultural produces were mobilized and collectively aggregated, and valued at about 3.9 million USD. The supervised enterprise project model is an innovative agricultural extension model developed along with above models for capacity development of extension agents and transfer of technologies to smallholder farmers. Over 6000 supervised enterprise projects have been introduced into 27 universities in 12 African countries for training front-line extension officers and extension delivery to farming communities.

• A relative yield of 70% was obtained under both border and drip irrigation.

Agriculture faces the dual challenges of food security and environmental sustainability. Here, we investigate current maize production at the field scale, analyze the yield gaps and impacting factors, and recommend measures for sustainably closing yield gaps. An experiment was conducted on a 3.9-ha maize seed production field in arid north-western China, managed with border and drip irrigation, respectively, in 2015 and 2016. The relative yield reached 70% in both years. However, drip irrigation saved 227 mm irrigation water during a drier growing season compared with traditional border irrigation, accounting for 44% of the maize evapotranspiration (ET). Yield variability under drip irrigation was 12.1%, lower than the 18.8% under border irrigation. Boundary line analysis indicates that a relative yield increase of 8% to 10% might be obtained by optimizing the yield-limiting factors. Plant density and soil available water content and available nitrogen were the three major factors involved. In conclusion, closing yield gaps with agricultural sustainability may be realized by optimizing agronomic, irrigation and fertilizer management, using water-saving irrigation methods and using site-specific management.

● Either increasing C input to or reducing C release from soils can enhance soil C sequestration.

Climate change vigorously threats human livelihoods, places and biodiversity. To lock atmospheric CO₂ up through biological, chemical and physical processes is one of the pathways to mitigate climate change. Agricultural soils have a significant carbon sink capacity. Soil carbon sequestration (SCS) can be accelerated through appropriate changes in land use and agricultural practices. There have been various meta-analyses performed by combining data sets to interpret the influences of some methods on SCS rates or stocks. The objectives of this study were: (1) to update SCS capacity with different land-based techniques based on the latest publications, and (2) to discuss complexity to assess the impacts of the techniques on soil carbon accumulation. This review shows that afforestation and reforestation are slow processes but have great potential for improving SCS. Among agricultural practices, adding organic matter is an efficient way to sequester carbon in soils. Any practice that helps plant increase C fixation can increase soil carbon stock by increasing residues, dead root material and root exudates. Among the improved livestock grazing management practices, reseeding grasses seems to have the highest SCS rate.

•Large-scale industrial pork production enterprises are preferred in China in the future.

This paper reviews the changes in pork production in China, the largest pork producing and consuming nation in the world. The pork sector in China has changed dramatically since the 1990s, with large-scale intensive pork production systems replacing the former, exclusively family-based pork production systems. Modern breeding, feeding, vaccinating, and management technologies are widely used now. However, smallholders still account for a large proportion of the total production. The intensification and specialization of the pork sector is expected to continue in the future, but there is increasing awareness and pressure to develop more environmentally-sustainable production systems. The relative shortage of domestically produced feed, the low utilization efficiency of feed ingredients, the large emissions of nitrogen and phosphorus to the environment, the high use of antibiotics, and the presence of residual metals in manures are very large challenges for the pork sector nowadays. To solve these problems, techniques including new feed resource utilization, precise feeding, low-protein diets, alternatives to antibiotics and increased manure recycling are all important topics and research directions today. With new techniques and management approaches, it is possible to build more sustainable pork production systems in China.

With the increase in consumer demand, wheat grain quality improvement has become a focus in China and worldwide. Transcriptome analysis is a powerful approach to research grain traits and elucidate their genetic regulation. In this study, two cDNA libraries from the developing grain and leaf-stem components of bread wheat cultivar, Nongda211, were sequenced using Roche/454 technology. There were 1061274 and 1516564 clean reads generated from grain and leaf-stem, respectively. A total of 61393 high-quality unigenes were obtained with an average length of 1456 bp after de novo assembly. The analysis of the 61393 unigenes involved in the biological processes of the grain showed that there were 7355 differentially expressed genes upregulated in the grain library. Gene ontology enrichment and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis showed that many transcription products and transcription factors associated with carbohydrate and protein metabolism were abundantly expressed in the grain. These results contribute to excavate genes associated with wheat quality and further study how they interact.