Discovery of genomic regions associated with grain yield and agronomic traits in Bi-parental populations of maize (Zea mays. L) under optimum and low nitrogen conditions

Noel Ndlovu Vijay Chaikam Berhanu Tadesse Ertiro Biswanath Das Yoseph Beyene Charles Spillane Prasanna Boddupalli Manje Gowda (2023, [Artículo])

Grain Yield Low Soil Nitrogen CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA GRAIN NITROGEN SOIL CHEMICOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES MAIZE QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI

Modeling the growth, yield and N dynamics of wheat for decoding the tillage and nitrogen nexus in 8-years long-term conservation agriculture based maize-wheat system

C.M. Parihar Dipaka Ranjan Sena Prakash Chand Ghasal Shankar Lal Jat Yashpal Singh Saharawat Mahesh Gathala Upendra Singh Hari Sankar Nayak (2024, [Artículo])

Context: Agricultural field experiments are costly and time-consuming, and their site-specific nature limits their ability to capture spatial and temporal variability. This hinders the transfer of crop management information across different locations, impeding effective agricultural decision-making. Further, accurate estimates of the benefits and risks of alternative crop and nutrient management options are crucial for effective decision-making in agriculture. Objective: The objective of this study was to utilize the Crop Environment Resource Synthesis CERES-Wheat model to simulate crop growth, yield, and nitrogen dynamics in a long-term conservation agriculture (CA) based wheat system. The study aimed to calibrate the model using data from a field experiment conducted during the 2019-20-2020-21 growing seasons and evaluation it with independent data from the year 2021–22. Method: Crop simulation models, such as the Crop Environment Resource Synthesis CERES-Wheat (DSSAT v 4.8), may provide valuable insights into crop growth and nitrogen dynamics, enabling decision makers to understand and manage production risk more effectively. Therefore, the present study employed the CERES-Wheat (DSSAT v 4.8) model and calibrated it using field data, including plant phenological phases, leaf area index, aboveground biomass, and grain yield from the 2019-20-2020-21 growing seasons. An independent dataset from the year 2021–22 was used for model evaluation. The model was used to investigate the relationship between growing degree days (GDD), temperature, nitrate and ammonical concentration in soil, and nitrogen uptake by the crop. Additionally, the study explored the impact of contrasting tillage practices and fertilizer nitrogen management options on wheat yields. The experimental site is situated at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, representing Indian Trans-Gangetic Plains Zone (28o 40’N latitude, 77o 11’E longitude and an altitude of 228 m above sea level). The treatments consist of four nitrogen management options, viz., N0 (zero nitrogen), N150 (150 kg N ha−1 through urea), GS (Green seeker based urea application) and USG (urea super granules @150 kg N ha−1) in two contrasting tillage systems, i.e., CA-based zero tillage (ZT) and conventional tillage (CT). Result: The outcomes exhibited favorable agreement between the model’s simulations and the observed data for crop phenology (With less than 2 days variation in 50% onset of flowering), grain and biomass yield (Root mean square error; RMSE 336 kg ha−1 and 649 kg ha−1, respectively), and leaf area index (LAI) (RMSE 0.28 & normalized RMSE; nRMSE 6.69%). The model effectively captured the nitrate-N (NO3−-N) dynamics in the soil profile, exhibiting a remarkable concordance with observed data, as evident from its low RMSE = 12.39 kg ha−1 and nRMSE = 13.69%. Moreover, as it successfully simulated the N balance in the production system, the nitrate leaching and ammonia volatilization pattern as described by the model are highly useful to understand these critical phenomena under both conventional tillage (CT) and CA-based Zero Tillage (ZT) treatments. Conclusion: The study concludes that the DSSAT-CERES-Wheat model has significant potential to assess the impacts of tillage and nitrogen management practices on crop growth, yield, and soil nitrogen dynamics in the western Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) region. By providing reliable forecasts within the growing season, this modeling approach can facilitate better planning and more efficient resource management. Future implications: The successful implementation of the DSSAT-CERES-Wheat model in this study highlights its applicability in assessing crop performance and soil dynamics. Future research should focus on expanding the model’s capabilities by reducing its sensitivity to initial soil nitrogen levels to refine its predictions further. Moreover, the model’s integration with decision support systems and real-time data can enhance its usefulness in aiding agricultural decision-making and supporting sustainable crop management practices.

Nitrogen Dynamics Mechanistic Crop Growth Models Crop Simulation CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA NITROGEN CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE WHEAT MAIZE CROP GROWTH RATE SIMULATION MODELS

Nitrogen deficiency tolerance and responsiveness of durum wheat genotypes in Ethiopia

Tesfaye Geleta Aga Kebebew Assefa Bekele Abeyo (2022, [Artículo])

Low-Nitrogen Tolerance Yield Reduction Tolerant Genotypes Parental Donors CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA NITROGEN HARD WHEAT GENOTYPES

Preliminary dissection of grain yield and related traits at differential nitrogen levels in diverse pre-breeding wheat germplasm through association mapping

Achla Sharma Juan Burgueño Prashant Vikram Nitika Sandhu Satinder Kaur Parveen Chhuneja (2023, [Artículo])

Plant Nitrogen Use Efficiency Pre-Breeding Lines Genome-Wide Association Study Marker Trait Association CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA WHEAT PRE-BREEDING BREEDING LINES NITROGEN LANDRACES GENETIC MARKERS

Influence of residue type and method of placement on dynamics of decomposition and nitrogen release in maize-wheat-mungbean cropping on permanent raised beds: a litterbag study

ML JAT Rajeev Gupta (2022, [Artículo])

Decomposition Rate Nitrogen Release Placement Effect CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CROP RESIDUES DEGRADATION NITROGEN PLACEMENT

Low nitrogen narrows down phenotypic diversity in durum wheat

Tesfaye Geleta Aga Bekele Abeyo (2023, [Artículo])

Clusters Durum Wheat Nitrogen Efficiency CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA HARD WHEAT GENETIC DIVERGENCE NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX NITROGEN PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS

Accumulation of wheat phenolic acids under different nitrogen rates and growing environments

Wenfei Tian Yong Zhang Zhonghu He (2022, [Artículo])

Functional Wheat Trans-Ferulic Acid Nitrogen Management Environment Interaction CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA WHEAT PHENOLIC ACIDS NITROGEN ENVIRONMENT ANTIOXIDANTS

Appraisal of complementarity of subsurface drip fertigation and conservation agriculture for physiological performance and water economy of maize

C.M. Parihar Hari Sankar Nayak Dipaka Ranjan Sena Renu Pandey Mahesh Gathala ML JAT (2023, [Artículo])

The Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) in north-west (NW) India are facing a severe decline in ground water due to prevalent rice-based cropping systems. To combat this issue, conservation agriculture (CA) with an alternative crop/s, such as maize, is being promoted. Recently, surface drip fertigation has also been evaluated as a viable option to address low-nutrient use efficiency and water scarcity problems for cereals. While the individual benefits of CA and sub-surface drip (SSD) irrigation on water economy are well-established, information regarding their combined effect in cereal-based systems is lacking. Therefore, we conducted a two-year field experiment in maize, under an ongoing CA-based maize-wheat system, to evaluate the complementarity of CA with SSD irrigation through two technological interventions–– CA+ (residue retained CA + SSD), PCA+ (partial CA without residue + SSD) – at different N rates (0, 120 and 150 kg N ha-1) in comparison to traditional furrow irrigated (FI) CA and conventional tillage (CT) at 120 kg N ha-1. Our results showed that CA+ had the highest grain yield (8.2 t ha-1), followed by PCA+ (8.1 t ha-1). The grain yield under CA+ at 150 kg N ha-1 was 27% and 30% higher than CA and CT, respectively. Even at the same N level (120 kg N ha-1), CA+ outperformed CA and CT by 16% and 18%, respectively. The physiological performance of maize also revealed that CA+ based plots with 120 kg N ha-1 had 12% and 3% higher photosynthesis rate at knee-high and silking, respectively compared to FI-CA and CT. Overall, compared to the FI-CA and CT, SSD-based CA+ and PCA+ saved 54% irrigation water and increased water productivity (WP) by more than twice. Similarly, a greater number of split N application through fertigation in PCA+ and CA+ increased agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and recover efficiency by 8–19% and 14–25%, respectively. Net returns from PCA+ and CA+ at 150 kg N ha-1 were significantly higher by US$ 491 and 456, respectively than the FI-CA and CT treatments. Therefore, CA coupled with SSD provided tangible benefits in terms of yield, irrigation water saving, WP, NUE and profitability. Efforts should be directed towards increasing farmers’ awareness of the benefits of such promising technology for the cultivating food grains and commercial crops such as maize. Concurrently, government support and strict policies are required to enhance the system adaptability.

Net Returns Subsurface Drip Irrigation Subsurface Drip Fertigation CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA EFFICIENCY GRAIN NITROGEN PHOTOSYNTHESIS PHYSIOLOGY WATER SUPPLY CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE CONVENTIONAL TILLAGE FERTIGATION GROUNDWATER NITROGEN-USE EFFICIENCY WATER PRODUCTIVITY

Nitrogen fertilizer application alters the root endophyte bacterial microbiome in maize plants, but not in the stem or rhizosphere soil

Alejandra Miranda Carrazco Yendi Navarro-Noya Bram Govaerts Nele Verhulst Luc Dendooven (2022, [Artículo])

Plant-associated microorganisms that affect plant development, their composition, and their functionality are determined by the host, soil conditions, and agricultural practices. How agricultural practices affect the rhizosphere microbiome has been well studied, but less is known about how they might affect plant endophytes. In this study, the metagenomic DNA from the rhizosphere and endophyte communities of root and stem of maize plants was extracted and sequenced with the “diversity arrays technology sequencing,” while the bacterial community and functionality (organized by subsystems from general to specific functions) were investigated in crops cultivated with or without tillage and with or without N fertilizer application. Tillage had a small significant effect on the bacterial community in the rhizosphere, but N fertilizer had a highly significant effect on the roots, but not on the rhizosphere or stem. The relative abundance of many bacterial species was significantly different in the roots and stem of fertilized maize plants, but not in the unfertilized ones. The abundance of N cycle genes was affected by N fertilization application, most accentuated in the roots. How these changes in bacterial composition and N genes composition might affect plant development or crop yields has still to be unraveled.

Bacterial Community Structure DArT-Seq Bacterial Community Functionality Genes Involved in N Cycling CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES MAIZE RHIZOSPHERE STEMS NITROGEN FERTILIZERS

Point placement of late vegetative stage nitrogen splits increase the productivity, N-use efficiency and profitability of tropical maize under decade long conservation agriculture

Hari Sankar Nayak C.M. Parihar Shankar Lal Jat ML JAT Ahmed Abdallah (2022, [Artículo])

Non-Linear Growth Model Nitrogen Remobilization Right Placement Precision Nitrogen Management CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA GROWTH MODELS NITROGEN NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT