Microbial resistance and resilience to drought and rewetting modulate soil NO emissions with different fertilizers.

Future climate models indicate an enhanced severity of regional drought and frequent rewetting events, which may cause cascading impacts on soil nitrogen cycle and nitrous oxide (NO) emissions, but the underlying microbial mechanism remains largely unknown. Here we report an incubation study that examined the impacts of soil moisture status and nitrification inhibitor (DCD) on the NO-producers and NO-reducers following the application of urea and composted swine manure in an acid soil. The soil moisture treatments included 100 % water-holding capacity (WHC) (wetting, 35.

Mr.Bean: a comprehensive statistical and visualization application for modeling agricultural field trials data.

Crop improvement efforts have exploited new methods for modeling spatial trends using the arrangement of the experimental units in the field. These methods have shown improvement in predicting the genetic potential of evaluated genotypes. However, the use of these tools may be limited by the exposure and accessibility to these products.

Consistent effects of independent domestication events on the plant microbiota.

The effect of plant domestication on plant-microbe interactions remains difficult to prove. In this study, we provide evidence of a domestication effect on the composition and abundance of the plant microbiota. We focused on the genus Phaseolus, which underwent four independent domestication events within two species (P.

Plant Cryopreservation: Principles, Applications, and Challenges of Banking Plant Diversity at Ultralow Temperatures.

Progressive loss of plant diversity requires the protection of wild and agri-/horticultural species. For species whose seeds are extremely short-lived, or rarely or never produce seeds, or whose genetic makeup must be preserved, cryopreservation offers the only possibility for long-term conservation. At temperatures below freezing, most vegetative plant tissues suffer severe damage from ice crystal formation and require protection.

Methane Emission, Carbon Footprint and Productivity of Specialized Dairy Cows Supplemented with Bitter Cassava ( Crantz).

The objective of this research was to determine the effect of cassava ( Crantz) supplementation on enteric methane (CH) emissions, carbon footprint, and production parameters in dairy cows. Daily concentrate supply for Jersey and Jersey * Holstein breeds was evaluated in four treatments (T): T1: 100% commercial concentrate; T2: 70% concentrate + 30% cassava leaves; T3: 70% concentrate + 30% cassava roots; and T4: 70% concentrate + 15% cassava leaves + 15% cassava root chips. Measurements of CH emissions were performed using the polytunnel technique.

Long-term relationships of beef and dairy cattle and greenhouse gas emissions: Application of co-integrated panel models for Latin America.

The cattle sector plays a pivotal role in the economies of numerous Latin American and Caribbean countries. However, it also exerts a significant impact on environmental degradation, including substantial contributions to greenhouse gas emissions (accounting for 23.5 % of global livestock emissions) and deforestation (70 % attributed to livestock in South America).

Relationship of dietary intake between children aged 12-59 months and their mothers in rural Kenya: a cross-sectional study in two seasons.

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the quantitative association between the dietary intakes of children and their caregivers.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, a non-consecutive 2-day 24-h dietary recall was conducted in two seasons. Participants comprised 142 pairs of 12-59-month-old children and their female caregivers from rural areas of Kenya.

Integrative transcriptomics reveals association of abscisic acid and lignin pathways with cassava whitefly resistance.

Background: Whiteflies are a global threat to crop yields, including the African subsistence crop cassava (Manihot esculenta). Outbreaks of superabundant whitefly populations throughout Eastern and Central Africa in recent years have dramatically increased the pressures of whitefly feeding and virus transmission on cassava. Whitefly-transmitted viral diseases threaten the food security of hundreds of millions of African farmers, highlighting the need for developing and deploying whitefly-resistant cassava.

Root exudate fingerprint of reveals vanillin as a novel and effective nitrification inhibitor.

Biological Nitrification Inhibition (BNI) is defined as the plant-mediated control of soil nitrification via the release of nitrification inhibitors. BNI of (syn. ) has been mainly attributed to root-exuded fusicoccane-type diterpenes, e.

Ceratobasidium sp. is associated with cassava witches' broom disease, a re-emerging threat to cassava cultivation in Southeast Asia.

Cassava witches' broom disease (CWBD) is a devastating disease of cassava in Southeast Asia (SEA), of unknown etiology. Affected plants show reduced internodal length, proliferation of leaves and weakening of stems. This results in poor germination of infected stem cuttings (i.

MASSAI: Multi-agent system for simulating sustainable agricultural intensification of smallholder farms in Africa.

The research and development needed to achieve sustainability of African smallholder agricultural and natural systems has led to a wide array of theoretical frameworks for conceptualising socioecological processes and functions. However, there are few analytical tools for spatio-temporal empirical approaches to implement use cases, which is a prerequisite to understand the performance of smallholder farms in the real world. This study builds a multi-agent system (MAS) to operationalise the Sustainable Agricultural Intensification (SAI) theoretical framework (MASSAI).

Characterizing patterns of seasonal drought stress for use in common bean breeding in East Africa under present and future climates.

Common bean ( L.) is the second most important source of dietary protein and the third most important source of calories in Africa, especially for the poor. In East Africa, drought is an important constraint to bean production.

Large language models and agricultural extension services.

Several factors have traditionally hampered the effectiveness of agricultural extension services, including limited institutional capacity and reach. Here we assess the potential of large language models (LLMs), specifically Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), to transform agricultural extension. We focus on the ability of LLMs to simplify scientific knowledge and provide personalized, location-specific and data-driven agricultural recommendations.

Effect of Pelagic on In Vitro Dry Matter and Organic Matter Degradation, Gas Production, and Protozoa Population.

This study determined the effect of pelagic on in vitro dry matter and organic matter degradation, total gas production (TGP), and protozoa population. The treatments were different levels of inclusion on a basal substrate (Stargrass hay; ) as follows: T0 (control treatment based on Stargrass hay), T10 (90% Stargrass hay + 10% ), T20 (80% Stargrass hay + 20% ), and T30 (70% Stargrass hay + 30% ). Ruminal fermentation kinetics and protozoa population were determined during 72 h of in vitro incubations.

Linking photosynthesis and yield reveals a strategy to improve light use efficiency in a climbing bean breeding population.

Photosynthesis drives plant physiology, biomass accumulation, and yield. Photosynthetic efficiency, specifically the operating efficiency of PSII (Fq'/Fm'), is highly responsive to actual growth conditions, especially to fluctuating photosynthetic photon fluence rate (PPFR). Under field conditions, plants constantly balance energy uptake to optimize growth.

Exploiting Indian landraces to develop biofortified grain sorghum with high protein and minerals.

Sorghum ( L. Moench) is the staple cereal and is the primary source of protein for millions of people in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Sorghum grain value has been increasing in tropical countries including India owing to its gluten-free nature, anti-oxidant properties and low glycemic index.

Review of instrumental texture measurements as phenotypic tool to assess textural diversity of root, tuber and banana food products.

Roots, tubers and bananas (RTBs) contribute immensely to food security and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. The adoption of RTB genotypes in these regions relies on the interplay among agronomic traits, ease of processing and consumer preference. In breeding RTBs, until recently little attention was accorded key textural traits preferred by consumers.

A scalable approach to improve CSA targeting practices among smallholder farmers.

With climate change, population growth, and land degradation exerting mounting pressures on agricultural systems in developing countries, climate-smart agriculture (CSA) strategies have been prioritized as a means to strengthen smallholder farmers' resilience. However, precise targeting methodologies remain a challenge. This study employs a comprehensive approach, integrating Socio-economic, and Biophysical (SEBP), and the Five Capitals Model analyses encompassing human, social, physical, natural, and financial capital.

The association between food environment, diet quality and malnutrition in low- and middle-income adult populations across the rural-Urban gradient in Vietnam.

Background: Economic reforms and trade liberalisation in Vietnam have transformed the food environment, influencing dietary patterns and malnutrition status. The present study focuses on the relationship between food environments (proximity and density of food outlets) and malnutrition (underweight, overweight, obesity) through diet quality in adult populations across urban, periurban and rural areas of Vietnam.

Methods: We evaluated food environment by geospatial mapping of food outlets through a transect walk across the "food ecosystem" from rural to urban areas.

Influence of Increase in Phosphorus Supply on Agronomic, Phenological, and Physiological Performance of Two Common Bean Breeding Lines Grown in Acidic Soil under High Temperature Stress Conditions.

Many common bean ( L.) plants cultivated in areas of the world with acidic soils exhibit difficulties adapting to low phosphorus (P) availability, along with aluminum (Al) toxicity, causing yield loss. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of an increase in P supply level on the agronomic, phenological, and physiological performance of two common bean breeding lines grown in acidic soil, with low fertility and under high temperature conditions, in a screenhouse.

Measuring Women's Empowerment in Agriculture: Innovations and evidence.

This paper addresses women's empowerment in agriculture, innovations in its measurement, and emerging evidence. We discuss the evolution of the conceptualization and measurement of women's empowerment and gender equality since 2010. Using a gender and food systems framework and a standardized measure of women's empowerment, the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), we review the evidence on "what works" to empower women based on impact evaluations of a portfolio of 11 agricultural development projects with empowerment objectives and a scoping review of livestock interventions.

Cropland expansion in Ecuador between 2000 and 2016.

We describe changes in the cropland distribution for physiographic and bioregions of continental Ecuador between 2000 and 2016 using Landsat satellite data and government statistics. The cloudy conditions in Ecuador are a major constraint to satellite data analysis. We developed a two-stage cloud filtering algorithm to create cloud-free multi-temporal Landsat composites that were used in a Random Forest model to identify cropland.