Selecting high-yielding rice cultivars with superior quality under a changing climate is of particular importance for ensuring future food security. In this field experiment, japonica rice Wuyunjing27 (WYJ27) and indica rice Yangdao6 (YD6) displaying low and high yield enhancement at elevated CO₂ (eCO₂), respectively, were compared in their grain quality responses to free-air CO₂ enrichment (FACE). Grains located at apical primary rachis (superior spikelets, SS) and at proximal secondary rachis (inferior spikelets, IS) were separately investigated in their responses to eCO₂ because of the asynchronous grain development in rice panicles. Significant quality declines were found in SS of WYJ27, including increased chalky grains and decreased protein and amino acid concentration; in contrast, YD6 was less affected by eCO₂ in these traits. Grain quality of IS of both cultivars was less affected by eCO₂, which might be associated with improved grain ripening, as shown by the reduced proportions of immature grains at harvest. Gel consistency and peak, hot, and final viscosities in the starch rapid visco analyzer profile were increased by eCO₂ when averaged across SS and IS of the two cultivars, indicating enhanced stickiness of cooked rice. For nutrient compositions, only grain sulfur concentration was reduced by eCO₂, while the concentrations of other mineral elements and phytic acid were unchanged when averaged across SS and IS of the two cultivars. These results indicate that indica rice with higher yield increase from eCO₂ displayed less quality deterioration, but the underlying mechanisms need further investigation in order to breed rice with both high yield and good quality in eCO₂ environments.

Implementing appropriate cropping systems suited to specific soil types and climatic conditions is crucial for improving crop yield and conserving water in semi-arid environments. The Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) was applied to simulate crop yields of cotton, sorghum, and winter wheat across three cropping systems, including continuous cotton, cotton-sorghum, and cotton-wheat. Simulations were conducted for 48 fields with various soil types across six counties in the Texas High Plains, spanning growing seasons from 2000 to 2022. Cotton water productivity, derived from DSSAT-simulated cotton yield and crop evapotranspiration (ET), was compared among these cropping systems. The DSSAT demonstrated good performance (R² ​≥ ​0.79, nRMSE ​≤ ​15.74%, and d-index ​≥ ​0.95) in predicting yields of cotton, sorghum, and winter wheat. The CROPGRO-Cotton model showed slightly better accuracy in predicting cotton yield under the continuous cotton system than under the cotton-sorghum and cotton-wheat systems. Model performance was similar across different soil types, with slightly higher accuracy in fine-textured soils such as clay loam (R² ​≥ ​0.84, MAPE ​= ​12.35, and d-index ​= ​0.95) than in other soils (R² ​≤ ​0.82, MAPE ​≥ ​13.76, and d-index ​≤ ​0.94). Additionally, the model performance varied by season, showing high accuracy in years with adequate precipitation but generally underpredicting cotton yields in drought seasons. Among the three cropping systems, cotton yield and water productivity were the highest for the cotton-sorghum system (6.3 ​kg ​ha⁻¹ ​mm⁻¹), followed by the cotton-wheat and continuous cotton systems. Overall, the DSSAT models effectively captured the effects of management practices, soil types, and growing seasons in predicting crop yield and crop water productivity across three cotton-based cropping systems. The findings provide valuable information for decision support in adopting cropping systems across various soil types and environmental conditions, fostering sustainable agriculture and water conservation in semi-arid regions.

Europe is an important potato producer, showing a strong decline in areas and increases in yield over the past decades, but with large regional differences. This study aims to characterise current European potato production by analysing yields, revealing yield gaps (Yg), and assessing key factors that explain actual (Ya) and potential yields (Yw, for rainfed systems; Yp, for irrigated systems). We selected 13 key potato producing countries, jointly accounting for 90​% of the European potato area. Local data were used to simulate Yw and Yp, while Ya was retrieved from sub-national statistics. Then, we analysed main factors affecting yields using boundary line analysis on nitrogen input and crop water availability. Results showed that European potato production on current acreage can increase by 55​% when yields would increase to 80​% of their potential. The largest potential production gains featured in eastern Europe (59​% Yg, 59​% of potato area), thereafter western Europe (32​% Yg, 25​% of potato area), and smallest gains in northern and southern Europe (43​% and 45​% Yg, with relatively small acreages of 9​% and 6​%, respectively). Our analysis revealed that nitrogen input was a limiting factor in eastern Europe, while we found substantial overuse in some western European countries. Under rainfed conditions, water was the main limiting factor in relatively few potato cultivation areas. In irrigated areas, e.g. in southern Europe, irrigation water requirements to approach Yp are large, which becomes increasingly challenging. Insights from this study can be used to guide future development and innovation in potato cultivation across Europe.

Exogenous application of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) has been shown to increase the stress resistance of crops, however, its effects on the yield and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) content of fragrant rice under salt stress remain unclear. The present study investigated the effects of foliar application of ZnO NPs on the yield and 2-AP content of fragrant rice under salt stress. The experiment involved two fragrant rice varieties, i.e. Ruanhuayou1179 and Ruanhuayoujinsi, and four levels of ZnO NPs, i.e. spraying water (CK), 100 ​mg ​L⁻¹ (NP1), 200 ​mg ​L⁻¹ (NP2), and 400 ​mg ​L⁻¹ (NP3), with 0.3​% (5 ​dS ​m⁻¹) saltwater (a mixture of freshwater and seawater). The results demonstrated that the NP1 treatment exhibited the highest yield for both fragrant rice varieties among all treatments, primarily due to an increase in grain number per panicle and grain filling rate. Furthermore, compared with CK, the NP1 treatment significantly enhanced aboveground biomass, chlorophyll content, and potassium ion content in the leaves while reducing malondialdehyde content. Compared with CK, the NP1, NP2, and NP3 treatments significantly increased 2-AP content of both fragrant rice varieties by 46.23-46.67​%, 31.66-43.99​%, and 21.72-39.31​%, respectively, mainly due to increased levels of leaf proline, Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate, 1-pyridine, and methylglyoxal contents. The NP1 treatment also upregulated the 2-AP synthesis enzymes and their gene expression (such as ornithine aminotransferase, diamine oxidase, and Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase) in comparison with CK. In conclusion, foliar application of 100 ​mg ​L⁻¹ ZnO NPs proved to be the most effective in enhancing both yield and 2-AP content in fragrant rice under salt stress.

Drought priming is a promising strategy for enhancing plant tolerance to low temperature stress. However, the underlying stress memory mechanisms linking priming to subsequent stress responses remain understood. Here, we integrated physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses to identify key stress memory genes or metabolites associated with priming-induced low temperature tolerance in wheat. Our results demonstrated that drought priming significantly improved cold tolerance by enhancing leaf photosynthesis, mitigating oxidative damage, and promoting osmolyte accumulation. These physiological advantages were tightly linked to transcriptional reprogramming of carbohydrate metabolism, antioxidant defense, and hormone signaling pathways, suggesting that drought priming establishes a long-term molecular and metabolic memory that enhances stress tolerance. During stress memory maintenance, primed plants sustained elevated expression of genes related to reactive oxygen species homeostasis, ethylene and brassinosteroid biosynthesis, and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) catabolism, along with increased accumulation of abscisic acid glucosyl ester (ABA-GE). Additionally, primed plants exhibited higher expression of genes associated with carbon, nitrogen, and energy metabolism while downregulating secondary metabolite biosynthesis genes, optimizing their metabolic state for future stress adaptation. Upon stress retriggering, primed plants rapidly activated ABA, IAA, and Ca²⁺ signaling pathways, upregulated antioxidant enzyme and sugar biosynthetic genes, and accumulated polyunsaturated fatty acids, lipids, and specific secondary metabolites, facilitating a swift and effective response to low temperature stress. These findings provide critical insights into the molecular and metabolic basis of stress memory in wheat, offering valuable genetic and biochemical targets for breeding climate-resilient crops and developing strategies to mitigate the impact of environmental stresses.

We reviewed the historical agronomic shifts that made Argentina a major soybean producer and discussed some of the current challenges and opportunities to further increase soybean production. The early high adoption rate of this crop was a result of the combination of high relative soybean prices with low production costs and effectively developed technologies that simplified farm activities such as no-till sowing and the use of glyphosate-resistant cultivars. Decades of agronomic research have helped adjust management practices to suit different rainfed environments across Argentina. Despite these efforts, a substantial gap between the rainfed yield potential and current farmer yield remains. Further improvements via crop structure adjustment would require a better understanding of temporal weather variations. Additional possibilities for yield gap reduction rely on improvements in fertilization practices. At present, only half of the soybean area is fertilized, and fertilizer rates are typically below the crop demand driven by an unfavorable grain/fertilizer price ratio. While there is still work to be done to narrow the soybean yield gaps via yield-protecting practices, further progress in genetic yield potential is also desirable. Additionally, a faster adoption rate of newly released cultivars could further increase yield gains. Finally, the extensive adoption of soybean has revealed that fields frequently growing soybean experience soil degradation and lower crop yields. Diversifying rotations with cereal crops is crucial to prevent these issues. All these aspects are relevant to both local and global soybean production, considering the significant role that Argentina is expected to play in the coming years.