Global warming is a central driver of climate change and is generally expected to increase methane (CH₄) emissions from rice paddies-a major source of this potent greenhouse gas (GHG). However, previous studies have primarily focused on warming during the rice-growing season, often overlooking the legacy effects of warming during wheat season on CH₄ emissions in the rice-wheat cropping system. Therefore, using a Free-Air Temperature Increase (FATI) experiment established in 2021, we assessed the impacts of annual warming on CH₄ emissions and rice yield in a rice-wheat cropping system in 2023 and 2024. Overall, annual warming had no significant effect on area-scaled CH₄ emissions, but reduced rice yields by 17.3-18.2%, leading to an increase in yield-scaled CH₄ emissions. Warming reduced the rate of wheat straw incorporation by 9.5% and lowered soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations by 24.1% before rice transplanting. During the tillering stage, the peak period for CH₄ emissions, warming did not affect soil DOC concentrations, the abundance of methanogens or methanotrophs, CH₄ production potential, or CH₄ oxidation potential. These results suggest that the reduction in carbon input offset the warming-induced stimulation of CH₄ production. Our findings underscore that legacy effects of warming can modulate GHG emissions and highlight the need to consider annual warming effects in CH₄ emission estimates, as single-season assessments may overlook critical feedbacks of carbon input.

Accurate prediction of maize (Zea mays L.) yield and design of density-tolerant ideotypes are crucial for crop management and yield improvement. Three-dimensional (3D) phenotypic traits are closely related to light interception efficiency and yield formation, theoretically serving as important indicators for yield prediction and plant architecture optimization. However, studies utilizing 3D phenotypic traits for yield prediction and ideotype design remain limited. In this study, a two-year (2023-2024) field experiment was conducted with 10 maize hybrids grown under three planting densities (37,500 (low density, LD), 67,500 (medium density, MD), and 97,500 (high density, HD) plants ha⁻¹). Plant 3D phenotypic traits at the silking stage were captured using the MVS-Pheno platform. The results showed that increasing planting density led to more compact plant architecture and significant changes in 3D phenotypic traits. A partial least squares regression model integrating 3D phenotypic traits with canopy light interception data achieved high prediction accuracy for yield (R² ​= ​0.91, RMSE ​= ​0.49 ​Mg ​ha⁻¹). Feature sensitivity and correlation analyses further identified projected area (PJA) and plant side width (PSW) as critical indicators for designing varieties tolerant to high density. Furthermore, a strategy was proposed to match plant ideotype to different planting densities: under MD, the leaf area per plant (LAP) and PJA increased, whereas the PSW and leaf orientation value (LOV) decreased; under HD, the LAP, PJA, and PSW decreased, whereas the LOV increased. These findings provide an effective model for yield prediction and a valuable reference for breeding maize with optimal architecture for high-density cultivation.

Global climate change impacts the yield and quality of rice, thereby restricting the sustainable development of agriculture. When plants cope with environmental stress, the interaction among signal generation, perception, and transmission and defense signal networks jointly enhances their stress resistance. Abscisic acid (ABA), as a key plant hormone, plays an important role in coordinating plant growth and adaptation to environmental stress. This review discusses the regulatory mechanisms of ABA in the growth, development, and stress response of rice; analyses the related signaling pathways, gene expression regulation, and functional characteristics under different environments; and explores how ABA balances plant growth and stress response. The research reveals the balance mechanism of ABA in rice, providing a theoretical basis for the improvement of rice varieties and the formulation of efficient cultivation strategies.

Although numerous studies have reported the effects of late sowing on wheat yield, its impact on the microstructure and processing quality of wheat dough remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate how late sowing influenced wheat quality, with a focus on both the general characteristics and fine structure of dough. A two-factor split-plot field experiment was conducted during the 2020-2022 growing seasons. Sowing date was assigned as the main plot, including four treatments: T1 (October 8), T2 (October 20), T3 (November 1), and T4 (November 13). The subplot was wheat variety, comprising two strong-gluten varieties and two medium-gluten varieties. Results indicated that appropriately late sowing altered the source-sink ratio, enhanced nitrogen uptake and accumulation in wheat plants, and significantly increased grain protein content and protein yield. At T3, protein content increased by 1.71%-27.22%, and protein yield increased by 3.32%-15.42% compared with other sowing dates. Furthermore, late sowing improved the microstructure of the dough and enhanced the processing quality of the flour. The Mantel test and structural equation modeling revealed that moderate delay in sowing improved thermal conditions from wintering to flowering stage, which promoted nitrogen accumulation and translocation within the plants and increased the contents of protein and glutenin subunits in the grain. These changes ultimately optimized the dough microstructure and improved the processing quality of wheat. With the delay of sowing date, the grain yield of four wheat varieties peaked at T2 in both 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 growing seasons. Our study provides a theoretical reference for how sowing date affects wheat yield and quality.

According to the geochemical niche hypothesis, different species have unique elemental compositions, but the elemental stoichiometry of cotton (Gossypium genus) has not been systematically studied. The rich variation and patterns in elemental stoichiometry within cotton can indicate potential directions for breeding. We studied the concentrations of 15 elements (carbon, nitrogen, calcium, potassium, sulfur, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, si-licon, manganese, boron, zinc, nickel, copper, and molybdenum) in the leaves of 18 different cotton species grown in a common garden and compared them with global plant averages. Compared with the global plant averages, the cotton had advantages in nitrogen, calcium, potassium, sulfur, phosphorus, boron, nickel, and molybdenum concentrations. Through redundancy analysis, we confirmed that the elemental stoichiometric variation in cotton was mainly influenced by ploidy level, domestication status, and genome type, which indicated that the elemental composition of cotton can be adjusted by changes in these aspects. Magnesium and calcium exhibited strong centrality in the elemental network of cotton, limiting the variation in the concentrations of sulfur, iron, zinc, nickel, and boron. These results enhance our understanding of cotton species and suggest that greater attention should be given to magnesium and calcium in future breeding.

Excessive basal nitrogen (N) inputs and improper water management limit both wheat yields and N use efficiency. Thus, a field experiment was conducted for two years to evaluate whether optimizing water and N management could reduce basal N inputs, improve N uptake and utilization efficiencies (NUpE and NUtE), and achieve high yields. A split-plot design was employed with water and N management as the main plots (conventional water and N management, CM; and drip fertigation, DF) and basal N rates as the sub-plots (150, 125, 100, 75, 50, 25, and 0 ​kg ​ha⁻¹, designated as B150, B125, B100, B75, B50, B25, and B0, respectively), while maintaining a fixed topdressing N rate of 150 ​kg ​ha⁻¹. The results showed that DF increased the average yield by 12.7-15.9% compared with CM due to improvements in N absorption, tillering ability, ear and grain numbers, leaf area index, and biomass production. More importantly, DF reduced the sensitivity of yield to the basal N rate. Halving the basal N rate from B150 to B75 reduced the yield by 4.1-4.3% under DF (P ​> ​0.05), but the yield loss was 10.9-11.4% under CM (P ​< ​0.05). Under DF, the increased grain weight compensated for the reduced grains m⁻², but under CM, the 17.3-17.8% reduction in grains m⁻² was not fully offset by the increase of 8.4-9.9% in the grain weight. In addition, the increased NUpE and NUtE also contributed to relatively high yield at B75 under DF. Furthermore, the NO₃⁻-N residue under DF was 7.9-9.8% lower at B75 than at B150. In conclusion, DF combined with a reduced basal N rate is effective for increasing wheat production, while decreasing soil nitrate residual levels to mitigate environmental impacts.

Water scarcity and pesticide-related environmental pollution are pressing challenges in modern agriculture. To overcome both of these concerns, conventional plastic mulch films (CPMFs) are widely used in dryland crops such as maize and vegetables. However, their application in paddy rice remains limited due to its unique agronomic requirements, including continuous or intermittent flooding and seedling transplanting. Moreover, wet and muddy conditions after harvest hinder CPMFs' retrieval, increasing the risk of residual plastic accumulation in soils. Recent advances in biodegradable plastic mulch films (BPMFs) present a transformative opportunity to overcome these challenges, offering comparable agronomic benefits to those of CPMFs while eliminating the need for post-use collection and disposal. This review synthesizes evidence on the potential of BPMFs in rice-based cropping systems, emphasizing improvements in water and pesticide use efficiencies and weed and disease management, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and compatibility with organic and low-input farming systems. Key technical, environmental, and socioeconomic barriers to large-scale adoption are identified, alongside targeted strategies to accelerate adaptability. By embedding BPMF technology within integrated paddy management, particularly in climate-stressed regions, the agricultural sector can advance toward a circular bioeconomy that aligns productivity with environmental stewardship.