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  • REVIEW
    Sha WEI, Junming FAN, Yanfeng TIAN, Hongmin DONG
    Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2024553

    ● The main impediments to low-carbon development of livestock sector are recognized.

    ● The divergence between the existing policies and actual practices are explained.

    ● Policy should focus on establishing standards, database and monitoring network.

    Rapid growth and a vast transition of Chinese livestock industry driven by economic incentives make it become an important contributor on climate change over the last four decades. This study first analyzes the evolving low-carbon livestock development policies and regulations, then an assessment and explanations of the achievements and non-achievements are provided. The findings reveal that China began to pay attention to low-carbon development policy starting in the early 1990s. However, only after the cyclic and green concept became the main sustainable development policy, China began to move seriously toward low-carbon livestock development. Several policy instruments were introduced, including moderate scale, feed optimization, manure resource utilization, facility and equipment allocation rate, energy conservation and substitution. Overall, achievements were made in introducing such policies. However, due to the large share of standard agriculture and regional resources, and environmental diversity, such policies may have little effect in practice. The divergence between the policies and actual practices are explained, and important policies applicable to all developing countries are also recommended.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Mengyuan QIAO, Jianchun ZHU, Ronghua LI, Junting PAN, Ran XIAO, Hailong WANG, Kuok Ho Daniel TANG, Zengqiang ZHANG
    Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2024552

    ● Production, distributions and environmental risks of LM in Shaanxi were studied.

    ● Energy utilization and carbon emission reduction potentials of LM in Shaanxi were estimated.

    ● LM in Shaanxi reached 4.64 × 106 t in 2021 with cattle and pig manure as the primary sources.

    ● LM is concentrated in northern Shaanxi and the eastern part of Hanzhong.

    ● Volumes of LM in Ankang and Hanzhong posed potential N and P pollution risks.

    ● LM energy potential and carbon emission reduction potential are 1.2 × 1011 MJ and 22%.

    Shaanxi is a leading province in animal husbandry (AH) in China. However, the lack of provincial information on the characteristics and utilization potential of livestock manure (LM) hinders crucial management decisions. Therefore, we investigated the spatiotemporal distribution, availability and biogas potential of LM in Shaanxi, and examine the carbon emission reduction potential of AH. There has been a 1.26-fold increase in LM quantities in Shaanxi over the past 35 years, reaching 4635.6 × 104 t by 2021. LM was mainly concentrated in northern Shaanxi and the eastern part of Hanzhong. Cattle and pig manure were the primary sources of LM, with the average LM land-load of 14.57 t·ha−1 in 2021. While the overall AH in Shaanxi has not exceeded the environmental capacity, the actual scales of AH in Ankang and Hanzhong have already surpassed the respective environmental capacities, posing a higher risk of N and P pollutions. In 2021, the estimated biogas energy potential of LM was 1.2 × 1011 MJ. From 2012 to 2021, the average carbon emission reduction potential in Shaanxi was 22%, with an average potential scale of 10%. The results of this research provide valuable data and policy recommendations for promoting the intensive use of LM and reducing carbon emissions in Shaanxi.

  • REVIEW
    Guangzhou WANG, Gang NI, Gu FENG, Haley M. BURRILL, Jianfang LI, Junling ZHANG, Fusuo ZHANG
    Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2024551

    ● Saline-alkali land is an important underutilized resource in China that could complement arable land and maintain the food security.

    ● China has made great progress in saline-alkali soil reclamation and utilization, and developed customized technologies for these soils.

    ● In the future, comprehensive management strategies should be implemented by integrating traditional saline-alkali soil management practices and new technologies to increase crop tolerance.

    Soil salinity is a global threat to the productivity of arable land. With the impact of population growth and development of social economy in China, the area of arable land has been shrinking in recent decades and is approaching a critical threshold of 120 Mha, the minimum area for maintaining the national food security. Saline-alkaline land, as important backup reserve, has been receiving increased attention as an opportunity to expand land resources. This review first summarizes the general principles and technologies of saline soil reclamation to support plant growth, including leaching salts or blocking the rise of salts, and soil fertility enhancement to improve the buffering capacity. Then the progress in this area in China is described including the customization of technologies and practices used in different saline-alkali regions. Following the soil management strategies, the concept of selecting crops for saline soil is proposed. This encompasses halophyte planting, salt-tolerant crop breeding and the application of saline-adapted functional microorganisms to improve the adaptation of crops. Finally, the current problems and challenges are evaluate, and future research directions and prospects proposed for managing this major soil constraint.

  • REVIEW
    Rosli Muhammad NAIM, Maisarah Abdul MUTALIB, Aida Soraya SHAMSUDDIN, Mohd Nizam LANI, Indang Ariati ARIFFIN, Shirley Gee Hoon TANG
    Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2024550

    ● Addresses global challenges like food insecurity, climate change and social inequality.

    ● Provides environmental preservation, economic viability and social equity.

    ● Strategies include agroforestry, ecosystem conservation, sustainable intensification and direct marketing.

    ● Emphasizes government support and policy, community-based approaches and participatory decision-making.

    ● Explores challenges and opportunities in transitioning to sustainable practices and rural-urban interactions.

    The escalating recognition of sustainable agriculture and food systems is a response to the multifaceted challenges of food insecurity, climate change, environmental deterioration and economic pressures. In this review, sustainable agriculture is characterized as an array of farming practices that effectively address immediate demands, while simultaneously safeguarding the potential of future generations to fulfill their needs. The primary objectives include sustained productivity, pollution reduction, and economic viability and sustainability. Sustainable food systems incorporate dimensions beyond production, including processing, distribution, consumption patterns, and waste management along the entire food supply chain. An abundance of research underscores the manifold benefits offered by sustainable agriculture and food systems to society at large. These advantages include fostering climate resilience, curbing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing water quality, promoting biodiversity, enriching soil fertility, fortifying rural livelihoods and nurturing community well-being. Nevertheless, the path toward sustainability is strewn with significant challenges. These include substantial costs involved in transitioning, conflicts in policy objectives, and the pervasive influence of traditional methods. Achieving sustainability requires the execution of holistic strategies that traverse various sectors and scales. Accelerating this progress can be facilitated through the adoption of diverse strategies, including agroforestry, agroecology, urban agriculture, farmer knowledge exchange, ecosystem service payments and supply chain shortening. However, the success of these strategies hinges on the provision of appropriate policies and incentives. Further research is vital to ascertain the ideal conditions for implementing specific interventions and to assess the comprehensive expenses and benefits linked to them. This review emphasizes the assertion that widespread adoption of sustainable practices in agriculture and interconnected food systems has positive impacts in terms of community nutrition, conservation of natural resources and long-term economic progress.

  • REVIEW
    Kunguang WANG, Qiaofang LU, Zhechao DOU, Zhiguang CHI, Dongming CUI, Jing MA, Guowei WANG, Jialing KUANG, Nanqi WANG, Yuanmei ZUO
    Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2024543

    ● Continuous cropping obstacles (CCOs) cause, on average, 22% reduction in crop production, seriously threatening sustainable agricultural development.

    ● Changes in the soil ecological environment are an essential and easily overlooked cause of CCOs.

    ● Studying CCOs from the perspective of the soil microbial food web may provide new approaches for explaining the formation mechanism of CCOs and controlling soilborne pathogens.

    ● Not all continuous cropping systems have CCOs, and some systems may enrich beneficial microorganisms to form healthy and disease-suppressive soil.

    Due to the increasing global population and limited land resources, continuous cropping has become common. However, after a few years of continuous cropping, obstacles often arise that cause soil degeneration, decreased crop yield and quality, and increased disease incidence, resulting in significant economic losses. It is essential to understand the causes and mitigation mechanisms of continuous cropping obstacles (CCOs) and then develop appropriate methods to overcome them. This review systematically summarizes the causes and mitigation measures of soil degradation in continuous cropping through a meta-analysis. It was concluded that not all continuous cropping systems are prone to CCOs. Therefore, it is necessary to grasp the principles governing the occurrence of diseases caused by soilborne pathogens in different cropping systems, consider plant–soil-organisms interactions as a system, scientifically regulate the physical and chemical properties of soils from a systems perspective, and then regulate the structure of microbial food webs in the soil to achieve a reduction in diseases caused by soilborne pathogens and increase crop yield ultimately. This review provides reference data and guidance for addressing this fundamental problem.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Yujia SHI, Haixia ZENG, Linfa FANG, Yue DENG, Ran XIAO
    Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2024546

    ● Chicken manure and composted kitchen waste had similar mineralization but different humification.

    ● The carbon:nitrogen ratio of organic inputs and microbial community composition determined the mineralization and humification of organic inputs.

    ● Enhanced humification led to greater carbon loss and nitrogen release.

    Organic inputs are key to increasing soil organic carbon in agricultural soils. This study aimed to unravel the process of mineralization and humification of chicken manure (CM) and composted kitchen waste (KW) using an in situ litter-bag incubation experiment. The results indicated that over 50%, 64% to 72%, and 62% to 85% of the initial mass, carbon and nitrogen, respectively, were lost through incubation with a marked loss occurring during the first 28 days. Increased humic acids (HAs), humus (HS) and degree of humification, along with a decrease in the level of fulvic acids and precursors for humic substances were observed through incubation. By comparison, CM demonstrated higher carbon and nitrogen conservation efficiencies and greater humification compared to KW. Additionally, a higher degree of humifaction and larger quantities of HAs and HS were not favorable for carbon and nitrogen conservation. Further structural equation modeling indicated that microbial community had a strong effect on carbon loss and nitrogen release, while stoichiometric properties of organic inputs were the main determinant of the mineralization and humification processes. These findings will enhance understanding of litter decomposition in soils and provide valuable references for soil carbon sequestration with organic inputs.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Provvidenza Rita D’URSO, Claudia ARCIDIACONO, Giovanni CASCONE
    Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2024542

    ● Environmental impacts in the dairy sector are mostly related to emissions of ammonia and greenhouse gases.

    ● Highest concentrations of these gases were in the center of the open barn during warm periods.

    ● Gas distribution varied vertically and horizontally, and differed between gases.

    ● Openings and the cooling systems increased indoor ventilation diluting these gases.

    ● Cleaning, milking and cooling practices affected cow behavior and altered diurnal gas patterns.

    This research aimed to quantify concentrations of ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), estimate emissions, and analyze the factors influencing them during warm periods in an open dairy barn equipped with two cooling systems in a Mediterranean climate zone. Gas distribution within the barn was observed to vary both vertically and horizontally, with the highest gas concentrations observed in the central area of the barn. NH3, CH4 and CO2 ranged in 1.7–7.4, 7–18, 560–724 μg·g–1, respectively. Natural ventilation through openings and the operation of cooling systems induced changes in indoor microclimate conditions, influencing cow behavior and, consequently, gas production. Gas concentrations were the highest at air velocities below 0.5 m·s–1. The highest concentration of NH3 was observed when the temperature-humidity index (THI) was > 72 and ≤ 78; and CO2 and CH4 concentrations were the highest with THI ≥ 72 and decreased with THI ≤ 72. NH3 concentrations when barn management included three daily milkings were higher than those measured when barn management was based on two daily milkings, and lower for CH4 and CO2. NH3 and CH4 emissions were the highest during barn cleaning, while the lowest NH3 emissions occurred during activity of the cows (i.e., feeding, walking).

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    Min LI, Yahui HUANG, Xiaomin DONG, Xu ZHANG, Qing MA
    Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2024537

    ● First report of bacteria Paenarthrobacter nitroguajacolicus for effective control of cucumber corynespora leaf spot and promotion of cucumber growth.

    P. nitroguajacolicus strain BJ-5 is well-adapted for biocontrol being tolerant of saline environments.

    P. nitroguajacolicus produces a variety of secondary metabolites that promote plant growth.

    Currently, the disease control in cucumber mainly depends on agrochemicals, which is not an environmentally benign strategy. Biocontrol bacteria not only resist plant pathogens but also promote plant growth, which is ecofriendly and sustainable option. A biocontrol bacterial strain BJ-5 was screened using Corynespora cassiicola as the target pathogen, and BJ-5 was determined to be Paenarthrobacter nitroguajacolicus by morphological and molecular methods. The effect of BJ-5 on C. cassiicola was studied, including the spore germination, cell membrane permeability and infected cucumbers. BJ-5 inhibited the germination of C. cassiicola spores in vitro and led to atrophy and deformation of the C. cassiicola budding tubes. BJ-5 caused the relative extracellular conductivity of C. cassiicola mycelia to increase compared with the control. Additionally, BJ-5 reduced the severity of cucumber corynespora leaf spot of cucumber infected with C. cassiicola. The inhibition efficacy of BJ-5 suspension as a foliar spray against cucumber corynespora leaf spot reached 63% inhibition, which is higher than a 5000-fold dilution of Luna-Son SC fungicide. In addition, BJ-5 was tested on the emergence of cucumber seedlings, recording the biomass and photosynthesis of cucumber during the growth period. BJ-5 at 1.5 × 105 CFU·mL−1 promoted the germination of cucumber seeds and increased biomass and photosynthesis at the adult plant stage. Also, the secondary metabolites of BJ-5 were determined. BJ-5 could produce chitinases, siderophore, cellulase, amylase and protease in the respective medium. Finally, adaptation assay of BJ-5 showed good salt tolerance and good adaptability in alkaline conditions, and that BJ-5 retains inhibition of fungi activity at higher temperatures. This is the first report of the biocontrol by P. nitroguajacolicus with antagonism to C. cassiicola and promote cucumber growth. This study indicates that P. nitroguajacolicus may serve as potential biocontrol agents against cucumber corynespora leaf spot fungus.

  • REVIEW
    Lei DENG, Haitao HU, Jiwei LI, Xue LI, Chunbo HUANG, Zhijing YU, Hailong ZHANG, Qing QU, Xiaozhen WANG, Lingbo DONG, Zhouping SHANGGUAN
    Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2023534

    ● Analyzes the current situation of planted forests construction in China.

    ● Summarizes the dynamic and benefit of C sequestration in plantation forest.

    ● Proposes the enhancement path of C sequestration for planted forests in China.

    ● Provides the path for realization of forest C sink trading in China.

    ● Suggests some insights for C sequestration and emission reduction in planted forests.

    Tree plantations are an important forest resource that substantively contributes to climate change mitigation and carbon sequestration. As the area and standing volume of tree plantations in China have increased, issues such as unreasonable structure, low productivity, limited ecological functionality and diminishing ecological stability have occurred, which hinder the ability of tree plantations to enhance carbon sequestration. This study outlined the trajectory of carbon sequestration and its associated benefits in tree plantations by examining the current state of tree plantation establishment and growth, elucidated the strategies for advantages of carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation in planted forests, and summarized the existing problems with tree plantations. This paper underscores the pressing need for concerted efforts to boost carbon sequestration within planted forests and proposes management and development strategies for Chinese tree plantations. In the future, it will be necessary to apply scientific theories to practice and develop multi-objective management optimization models for the high-quality development of tree plantations. This will involve establishing a cohesive national carbon trading market, improving the prediction of carbon sequestration, and identifying priority zones for afforestation and reforestation, to better serve China’s national strategy for achieving peak carbon and carbon neutrality.

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE
    , Muhammad Waqar AKRAM, Guiqiang LI, Muhammad Zuhaib AKRAM, Muhammad FAHEEM, Muhammad Mubashar OMAR, Muhammad Ghulman HASSAN
    Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2023532

    ● A machine vision-based prototype system was developed for fruit grading.

    ● Deep learning and image processing algorithms are used for defective fruit detection.

    ● The mechanical system is controlled by microcontroller guided by computer vision.

    ● Maximum validation accuracies for mangoes and tomatoes were around 94%.

    Artificial intelligence-based automatic systems can reduce time, human error and post-harvest operations. By using such systems, food items can be successfully classified and graded based on defects. For this context, a machine vision system was developed for fruit grading based on defects. The prototype consisted of defective fruit detection and mechanical sorting systems. Image processing algorithms and deep learning frameworks were used for detection of defective fruit. Different image processing algorithms including pre-processing, thresholding, morphological and bitwise operations combined with a deep leaning algorithm, i.e., convolutional neural network (CNN), were applied to fruit images for the detection of defective fruit. The data set used for training CNN model consisted of fruit images collected from a publicly-available data set and captured fruit images: 1799 and 1017 for mangoes and tomatoes, respectively. Subsequent to defective fruit detection, the information obtained was communicated to microcontroller that further actuated the mechanical sorting system accordingly. In addition, the system was evaluated experimentally in terms of detection accuracy, sorting accuracy and computational time. For the image processing algorithms scheme, the detection accuracy for mango and tomato was 89% and 92%, respectively, and for CNN architecture used, the validation accuracy for mangoes and tomatoes was 95% and 94%, respectively.